As often happens, the talk turned to careers. Goldberg told the couple (their names turned out to be Chuck and Kim) that she was a longtime music professor at Cal State San Marcos. The couple told Goldberg that they both worked in the cybersecurity field.

When Goldberg’s face betrayed that she knew nothing about cybersecurity, Chuck and Kim launched into a brief introduction. As Goldberg listened to them, it occurred to her that she might have a personal story that at least touched on cybersecurity. She recounted it to them, and after she was done, Chuck and Kim had to pick their jaws up off the floor.

“They were like, ‘Oh my God, you are going to become famous,’ ” Goldberg recalled.  

Within weeks, Goldberg had been introduced to the organizers of the biggest cybersecurity event in the nation, the RSA Conference in San Francisco, and she was invited not just to appear, but to be a keynote speaker. Soon after that, Jen Easterly, then the director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (commonly known as CISA), approached Goldberg and asked her to join an upcoming lecture circuit.

Goldberg’s life hasn’t been the same since that chance encounter in La Jolla. Now, she’s in the process of achieving an even greater level of exposure.

She turned her amazing tale into her first book (non-textbook category), “Notes of Deception: How a Quartet of American Musicians Outwitted the KGB,” released Aug. 25 by HarperCollins, one of the largest book publishers in the world. The book – co-written with Vince Houghton, director of the National Security Agency’s National Cryptologic Museum – chronicles an almost-too-bizarre-to-be-believed episode from the mid-1980s, years before Goldberg joined the faculty at CSUSM.

“I had been sitting on the story for decades,” she said. “I didn’t realize the extent to which people would be really interested.”

More than four decades ago, Goldberg was a saxophonist for the Klezmer Conservatory Band (KCB), a Boston-based group that played mostly Yiddish music. This was during the height of the Cold War, when the United States and the Soviet Union were locked in a battle of nuclear brinkmanship.

Through a newspaper article, the KCB became aware of a musical group in the Soviet republic of Georgia called the Phantom Orchestra, composed mainly of so-called refuseniks (the term for Jewish people who were denied permission to emigrate by the Soviet government) but also Catholic and human-rights activists and artists. The Phantom Orchestra was using music to circulate their story to the Western world, and the KGB (Soviet state police) increasingly viewed the musicians as a threat.

Urged on by locals in their Boston suburb, Goldberg and three of her bandmates decided to travel to the USSR to meet with the orchestra in a show of solidarity. But there was one big catch.

“The caveat was that this had to be undercover, a secret mission,” Goldberg said. “We couldn't tell anybody about it, except for our parents and if we had a boyfriend or girlfriend. Not only that, but in order to take information in and out, we had to have a secret code because we couldn't walk in with people's names and addresses. They would get in trouble.”

Goldberg had the perfect secret code in mind. As musicians, of course, the KCB would be bringing sheet music to Georgia. What if they were to use that as a cipher – effectively obscure their hidden messages in plain sight?

“So it looks just like piano music, but actually it’s directions on how to get to someone’s apartment because their phones were disconnected,” she said.

Goldberg and her bandmates felt thrilled by their proposed deception, by the notion that they would be acting like real-life spies. After the first in-depth interrogation by the KGB, however, their headiness turned to fear. Yet they made it into the Soviet Union with their code undetected, and once they met the members of the Phantom Orchestra, they grew more emboldened.

“We gained so much confidence from them,” Goldberg said. “We became less afraid of the KGB and more defiant, and that helped our ability to manage a difficult situation and what potentially was a very dangerous situation.”

After spending eight days behind the Iron Curtain, Goldberg and Co. tricked the KGB on their way out as well. Then they went to work, lobbying members of Congress and playing concerts to raise awareness of the refuseniks’ plight. Their advocacy ultimately factored into the negotiations between President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on easing Cold War tensions, and the USSR finally dissolved in 1991.

“Once people started being able to emigrate, of course, our story faded into the woodwork of history,” Goldberg said.

“Notes of Deception” is her latest, boldest attempt to change that. A self-described “pack rat,” she saved all the archival information – reports, news clippings, photos – from the spy mission, suspecting that it could prove useful someday. But none of it emerged until 2022, when the accidental meeting with Chuck and Kim yielded the cybersecurity conference speaking gig, which in turn yielded an exclusive feature about the saga in Wired magazine that attracted widespread attention.

Goldberg decided that she wanted to tell her story in her own words. She had written much of a manuscript – using a sabbatical to piece it together – but was struggling to find a literary agent.

Enter Houghton, the NSA official who had heard about Goldberg’s speeches and read the Wired article. As a historian of cryptology, he was dumbfounded that the tale of Goldberg’s band was unknown to him. He contacted Goldberg, and they hit it off. After Goldberg described her book project, Houghton told her she might have a better chance of getting it published if she recruited a co-author who could sprinkle in more historical context.

“I was like, ‘Hey, Vince, how about you? Do you want to take this on with me?’ ” Goldberg said.

Houghton agreed, and with him on board as an experienced writer (one of his colorful titles is “Nuking the Moon: And Other Intelligence Schemes and Military Plots Left on the Drawing Board”) a bidding war ensued to publish the book.

Now it’s here, and the reception has been enthusiastic. People magazine published an extended excerpt last month, and the Wall Street Journal reviewed the book (among many other outlets). Goldberg already has been interviewed by multiple podcasts and TV stations, and she spoke on a panel at the recent KPBS book festival in San Diego. She also has embarked on a national book tour that will extend through May (she’s able to do it because she has entered the Faculty Early Retirement Program, having taught her final class last spring).

Asked what she hopes readers take away from the book, Goldberg said: “What we did was a little over the top in terms of making a difference in people's lives, but advocacy absolutely makes a difference. Every single day there's something that you can do to change someone's life in a little way. Also, music is a very powerful language in terms of communicating, but also self-empowerment. It's really important for people to have music or the arts or even sports, to have something that they can hold on to that takes them out of their brains to reconnect, recharge and be mindful.”

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

The event, which was sponsored by North City, included remarks from, among others, President Ellen Neufeldt, Provost Carl Kemnitz, Vice President of Student Affairs Viridiana Diaz and Tristan Bugnot, the president and CEO for Associated Students, Inc.

“At Cal State San Marcos, we understand that the student experience stretches far beyond the classroom,” Diaz told attendees, which included family members of new students. “Students are the heartbeat of the Division of Student Affairs. Our professional staff is committed to offering intentional learning and development opportunities that stimulate self-discovery and personal growth, and I have no doubt that you’ll find that CSUSM will play such an impactful role in your lives.

“This is truly a place that not only helps students change the trajectory of their own lives, but also has a positive ripple effect on their families, friends and communities.”

As is tradition at New Student and Family Convocation, each student received a challenge coin from a family member or friend.

“We’re excited and appreciative that our kids are coming into their own and finding their niche, and the challenge coin ceremony is symbolic of that,” said Tony Reece, a family ambassador whose daughter Marisa transferred to CSUSM last year.

Relive some of the highlights from the two ceremonies in the New Student and Family Convocation photo slideshow.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

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.

Movement Mystics: Alchemy, Resilience and Transformation

Sept. 18, 7 p.m., Arts Building 111

This captivating dance performance celebrates the richness of Brazilian culture through timeless feminine stories and symbols. Inspired by Brazil's many dance traditions, it explores themes of strength, transformation and the wisdom carried within the body.

Drawing from world mythology, Yoruba beliefs, Jungian psychology, Clarissa Pinkola Estés' “Wild Woman” archetype and the vibrant rhythms of Brazil, the performance uses movement to honor the past, express the present and connect with something deeper.

More than a celebration of culture, this work is a personal journey. It explores how dance can help us navigate life's biggest challenges and reconnect with our inner strength.

CSUSM students: Free

Faculty/staff/alumni: $5

Community: $10

CHABSS Networking Night: Transformative Leadership and Social Change

Oct. 7, 5 p.m., USU Ballroom

Join CSUSM students, alumni, artists and community leaders for an evening of ideas, creativity and connection. The event will highlight how leadership emerges through the arts, media, public service and civic engagement.

Enjoy appetizers, drinks, live music and an inspiring panel of alumni and community leaders sharing how their work creates meaningful social impact. The evening will conclude with structured networking designed to foster meaningful conversations, explore career paths and build lasting connections.

Whether you’re seeking mentorship, expanding your professional network or discovering new opportunities, this event offers an engaging space to learn, connect and be inspired by those shaping the future of our communities.

CSUSM students: Free

Faculty/staff/alumni: Free

Community: Free

‘The Canary Code’: Designing Workplaces Where Different Minds Thrive

Oct. 12, 6 p.m., USU Ballroom

Our ability to thrive in the workplace is highly dependent on how we relate to one another. Ludmila Praslova, author of “The Canary Code: A Guide to Neurodiversity, Dignity and Intersectional Belonging at Work,” shares insights on how we can prioritize neuroinclusivity in the workplace to foster connection and a sense of belonging.

Praslova draws from her perspective as a first-generation academic and a neurodivergent woman. She is a professor of industrial-organizational psychology at Vanguard University in Orange County and a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Psychology Today and Forbes.

CSUSM students: Free

Faculty/staff/alumni: $5

Community: $10

‘You’re No Indian’

Oct. 26, 6 p.m., USU Ballroom

Come attend a screening of “You’re No Indian,” which is not just a film – it’s a call to action. At the heart of this 2025 documentary lies a battle for identity and justice, where militias storm casinos, graves are pillaged for DNA evidence and even proven lineage cannot save individuals from disenrollment.

More than 10,000 people have been disenrolled from their tribes in recent years, eviscerated from their communities and families. Research confirms disenrollment’s relationship to tribal gaming and even the corruption of tribal politicians. Not only does it result in financial ruin for the disenrolled, but immeasurable psychological harm when they are now told “you’re no Indian.”

This film exposes the dark intersection of power, greed and cultural erasure. It’s a powerful stand for those whose voices have been silenced, urging viewers to join a growing movement for truth and accountability.

CSUSM students: Free

Faculty/staff/alumni: $5

Community: $10

The Power of Transformation: From Gang Life to Community Leadership

Nov. 3, 6 p.m., USU Ballroom

Luis J. Rodriguez – an award-winning poet, acclaimed author and community activist – draws from his own life and shares how he overcame gang involvement to become a leading voice for hope, healing and social justice. His inspiring story reminds us that people can change, communities can heal and everyone deserves the chance to build a better future.

CSUSM students: Free

Faculty/staff/alumni: $5

Community: $10

Pasifika in Entertainment: Navigating Culture, Language and Performing Arts in Disney’s Live-Action ‘Moana’

Nov. 16, 6 p.m., USU Ballroom

The release of Disney’s live-action “Moana” film this summer involved local expertise and talent from CSUSM and the surrounding area. Attendees will learn about the making of the film through the perspectives of the Oceanic Cultural Trust, a group created by the film company to serve as cultural consultants on Oceanic language and performing arts. 

CSUSM professor Grant Muāgututi'a served as the lead cultural consultant for the film. His work focuses on the need for Oceanic language conservation efforts through mainstream popular media, independent documentary film, community partnership programming and higher education institutions both locally and abroad. He and others involved in the film will reflect on their roles in making the live-action film. 

Members of the Oceanic Cultural Trust and actors from the film will engage the audience with behind-the-scenes stories and live musical and dance performances to inspire everyone to reimagine how grassroots cultural arts education can shape more inclusive experiences of higher education and impact popular media representations.

CSUSM students: Free

Faculty/staff/alumni: $5

Community: $10

Capturing Complexity: Theater as a Means of Self-Exploration and Reconciliation

Nov. 17, 6 p.m., Arts 111

Join us for a staged-reading presentation of “Pride: Mortal BEINGS part 1,” a one-person play written and performed by Terrell Donnell Sledge, a San Diego actor, writer, director, advocate, empowerment coach and CSUSM theatre arts lecturer. The story is an alternative telling of the fall of Lucifer – from Lucifer's perspective – hinging on the questions of free will, love, loyalty, suffering, suicide, forgiveness and redemption.

After the performance, Sledge will be joined by Stephanie Sledge – an artist, associate clinical social worker and CSUSM alumna – for a conversation about narrative representation and creative expression for self-exploration and healing. Stephanie will interview Terrell about the process of writing the play as a form of self-preservation when he was navigating academic environments prone to stereotyping and erasure of Black male identity. Guests will depart with the building blocks for harnessing their own creativity as a therapeutic tool.

CSUSM students: Free

Faculty/staff/alumni: $5

Community: $10

Serenades, Fantasies and Songs: Camarada With Aaron Humble, Tenor

Nov. 19, noon, Arts 111

Camarada, a resident ensemble at The Conrad in La Jolla, will present a unique concert spotlighting the remarkable tenor of CSUSM professor Aaron Humble. This diverse and engaging program takes audiences on a journey through the history of music, spanning from the Baroque era to the 20th century.

The instrumental portion includes works by Baroque master Telemann, Romantic composer Robert Fuchs and contemporary composer Ian Clarke. Vocal selections will highlight lyrical and expressive works by Benjamin Britten, Italian opera composers Gaetano Donizetti and Ruggero Leoncavallo, and an exquisite French masterpiece by Georges Hüe. Performers include Beth Ross Buckley, flute; David Buckley, violin; Travis Maril, viola; and Dana Burnett, piano.

Join us for an inspiring midday concert as we explore the world of vocal chamber music and more.

CSUSM students: Free

Faculty/staff/alumni: $5

Community: $10

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

But something happened along the way. The history courses sparked Acevedo’s interest in a manner that his other GE courses did not. The material ran so much deeper than the rote memorization of names and dates that he associated with history.

“My professors at CSUSM also made me feel smart, giving me invaluable feedback on my work and my progress as a student,” Acevedo said.

That was more than two decades ago. Intending to major in communication, Acevedo switched to history, graduated with a history degree in 2004 and ultimately became a professor himself – with an ambition to emulate in his teaching the way he was taught at CSUSM.

It seems to be working. Now an associate professor and coordinator of history, political science and American studies at Hudson County Community College (HCCC) in Jersey City, N.J., Acevedo last month received the Distinguished Faculty Award from the New Jersey Council of County Colleges – an honor that covers all faculty across the state’s 18 community colleges. He was recognized for his “profound influence on students academically and professionally inside and outside the classroom.”

Acevedo co-founded the Hudson Oral History Project, through which he guides student interns in interviewing residents, community leaders and business owners to document the history and rapid changes of Jersey City’s Journal Square area. He also helped establish the HCCC Department of Cultural Affairs, which provides free arts and enrichment programming for students and the people of Hudson County.

“When I was notified I got the award, it felt quite rewarding,” he said. “Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of the impact you have on students, especially when doing the work of preparing lessons or confronting challenges like the influence of AI on education. So to receive an award like this was definitely a reminder that the daily commitment to help students grow as learners and thinkers is so worthwhile.”

A Fallbrook native, Acevedo chose CSUSM because of the proximity to home and the intimate learning environment compared to other California State University schools that he considered. Once he switched his major to history, he came under the tutelage of multiple faculty mentors, most notably Alyssa Sepinwall.

Sepinwall invited Acevedo to be part of CSUSM’s Faculty Mentoring Program, which since 1991 has paired first-generation students like Acevedo in a one-on-one mentoring relationship with a faculty member to increase retention rates. At Sepinwall’s suggestion, he attended an academic history conference in Newport Beach that he calls a turning point because it exposed him to what history professors do outside the classroom.

“Dr. Sepinwall also brought in guest speakers and made sure her students got engaged with history beyond just completing our assignments,” Acevedo said. “And she gave me invaluable guidance when I applied to grad school, spelling out in no uncertain terms the challenges of the academic job market, but also pushing me to pursue my dreams. Along the way, she has been my go-to person for all things history.”

Sepinwall’s influence was such that, during his senior year, Acevedo nominated her for the President’s Award for Innovation in Teaching, which she won in 2004. Her admiration for her former student is equally strong.

“I am so impressed by all of Tony's successes since he graduated from CSUSM,” Sepinwall said. “He took everything he was taught here and built on it in his own way to become a superstar teacher. I learn so many things from him when we talk about teaching – and watching him become a state and national leader in history pedagogy, for community colleges and others, makes me tremendously proud as his former Faculty Mentoring Program mentor.”

After graduating from CSUSM, Acevedo earned a master’s degree in history from San Diego State and worked there as a graduate teaching associate. He also taught a history course at CSUSM for a former professor, Darel Engen (another major influence), when Engen was on paternity leave. Hired by HCCC in 2013, he lives in New York City, where he’s in the dissertation phase of achieving a Ph.D. in world history from St. John’s University.

Acevedo particularly values the experience of teaching at a community college.

“Most of my students are first-generation students, and getting to be part of their journey feels special, because for many of them, as for myself, receiving a college degree can be transformational,” he said. “I also can relate to the ways my students have to balance lots of real-life responsibilities, such as heavy work schedules, with their pursuit of a college education, and I am continually impressed by their grit and perseverance.

“Most of my students are also non-history majors taking history courses to fulfill a requirement, so I especially love reading student evaluations that start with ‘I didn’t like history before’ or ‘History was never my favorite subject’ before they explain how much they enjoyed the class.”

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

Helmantoler had planned to major in speech-language pathology, but a part-time job leading art classes for children shifted her direction entirely. 

“I realized I loved working with a group of kids and creating that classroom environment,” said Helmantoler, president of the Future Educators Association (FEA), an organization for aspiring teachers at Cal State San Marcos. 

This week, Helmantoler will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies, and this fall she will begin a multiple subject credential program to teach transitional kindergarten. 

Her involvement in FEA has been supported by Project R.I.S.E. (short for Recruiting Inclusive, Supportive Educators), a CSUSM initiative aimed at strengthening Southern California’s educator pipeline.   

Jared Leeds is on a similar path, one he has envisioned since childhood. 

“I remember playing teacher when I was in kindergarten,” said Leeds, who is pursuing a single-subject credential in English and plans to teach literature to middle and high school students. 

“It’s an interest that has always stayed with me. There’s something profound about building trust with students and knowing you can make an impact, whether it’s big or small. It’s a fulfilling career path.” 

Project R.I.S.E. also has shaped Leeds’ experience. Through program events, he connected with high school students exploring teaching, as well as educators who shared their perspectives and career journeys. 

The initiative is generously funded by SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, which provided an initial $40,000 grant to launch Project R.I.S.E. last year and has since committed an additional $120,000 to expand the program. 

“Supporting future educators is an investment in the future of our communities,” said Kristin Crellin, senior vice president at SchoolsFirst FCU and a CSUSM Foundation Board director. “Programs like Project R.I.S.E. create pathways for students to become teachers who will make a lasting difference for generations to come.” 

With this investment, Project R.I.S.E. hosted 400 high school students and their teachers at the Future Educators Summit, offering 14 sessions ranging from student panels and campus tours to hands-on classroom activities. It also organized mock interviews with school administrators for CSUSM students and launched its first College and Career Readiness Summit, bringing together regional educators to co-develop pathways that better support students from high school through college and into careers in education. 

“SchoolsFirst FCU makes this work possible,” said Cassiopeia Guthrie, Project R.I.S.E. faculty fellow and Distinguished Teacher in Residence. “It allows us to create opportunities for students at every stage, from bringing high school students to campus to helping credential candidates cover essential costs like testing and certification fees, while helping build a more diverse educator workforce.” 

Support from SchoolsFirst FCU helps students like Helmantoler and Leeds become educators who will shape and inspire the next generation. It also contributes to CSUSM’s Blueprint for the Future fundraising campaign to raise $200 million in philanthropy and research funding.  

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

Julian, a Cal State San Marcos social sciences major who's graduating this week, grew up in Los Angeles. The youngest of six siblings, she dealt with surroundings that proved challenging. She said one of her sisters became addicted to drugs when Julian was young, and a brother got involved with gangs and was in and out of juvenile hall.

Julian said her father was an abusive alcoholic and that her parents divorced when she was 2 years old. Her mother worked nights at a hospital as a nursing assistant, and her oldest brother was often responsible for taking care of her and her siblings as best he could.

But Julian doesn’t have much memory of her siblings because when she was only 6, she and her next-oldest sister were placed in foster care. They previously had been in kinship care with their maternal grandmother, who lived across the street. However, they were put in foster care after often returning to their mother’s house, where they were not allowed to be because their mother’s new boyfriend had been accused of molesting one of Julian’s siblings. 

“A lot of my childhood was just surviving,” Julian said.

Julian moved 11 times during her 13 years in foster care, making it difficult to create a solid group of friends. In eighth grade, she attended one school for only 20 days, but those 20 days marked an important milestone for her. It was at that school that she tested into honors classes, which allowed her to take AP classes when she entered high school.

After graduating from high school, Julian was accepted into the Guardian Scholars program, which helps former foster youth pursue higher education. Though the scholarship helped her afford college, the overall experience proved traumatizing.

Julian was sexually assaulted at both her initial college and another college where she transferred after the first incident. Both times, she said, her feelings were never prioritized. She said she wasn’t believed the first time and the second time she was only asked if she was pregnant.

The assaults led to a challenging period. Julian couch surfed with friends until she eventually had to move back with her biological mother because she had nowhere else to go. That, too, was traumatic as Julian contended with learning that she had been molested as a child, which she said subconsciously contributed to many of the issues she experienced as a young adult.

To make matters worse, Julian also experienced an ectopic pregnancy that left her fighting for her life in the hospital, with only one of her foster parents around to support her.

Julian recovered and worked countless jobs just trying to survive without a support system. She ended up marrying a man she hoped could provide her with stability and love, but the relationship was both physically and verbally abusive.

It continued until one day Julian knew she needed to make a change.

“I just remember thinking, ‘I don’t deserve this. I’ve worked so hard and I know I am worth more than this,’ ” she said.

After a gap of almost 20 years since she’d been in college, Julian enrolled at Irvine Valley College during the pandemic. She earned an associate degree and transferred to CSUSM in 2024 to pursue a bachelor’s degree.

During orientation at CSUSM, Julian was unsure if she had made the right choice to pursue a degree in social sciences, as she originally went to college for psychology. But seeing sociology professor Matthew Atherton made all the difference.

“When I saw Dr. Atherton’s bright smile, he made me feel like I made the right choice,” Julian said.

It wasn’t just the encouragement of professors that made her time at CSUSM special. It was also the support she received from ACE Scholars Services when she needed it most. Being in her 40s, Julian no longer qualified for financial support from ACE. However, she still loved having community support when she was going through tough times.

“ACE gave me a safe space to let out my feelings and vent about situations I was struggling with, where I may not have even been able to go to class if I held these thoughts in,” she said.

The comforting space that ACE Scholars cultivates for former foster care students has helped many students achieve the higher education goals they thought were unattainable.

Over the last 15 years, Julian met the man she is currently living with and helped him fight for custody of his two daughters. She continues to support the girls, as their biological mother was not part of their upbringing. They are 18 and 20 now, and Julian has made it her top priority to give them the life she wishes she had.

“I never thought I would be a mom because I was afraid I would transfer all the trauma that I went through onto my children,” Julian said, “But it was actually the opposite. I took everything that I didn't like from my childhood and promised I would never be that type of parent.”

So, as Julian completes her finals, writes her last papers and orders her cap and gown for graduation, she is reminded of how much of a role model she has been for her daughters. She has worked to show them that, even when life seems like it has turned against you, you can always make it through.

Julian is applying to get her master’s in education counseling at San Diego State University and hopes to continue her passion for inspiring students, especially foster students, to achieve higher education.

“Foster care children come from a place where they just need a little more help to believe in themselves,” she said. “And I hope to one day be the support for those students.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Honorees were nominated by faculty or staff and endorsed by their college’s dean. Here is a closer look at each award recipient:

Alexis Medina, human development

President’s Outstanding Graduate Award

Dean’s Award, College of Education, Health and Human Services

Medina was lauded as an exceptional scholar, mentor and advocate whose achievements reflect the highest ideals of CSUSM and the CSU’s mission of social mobility.

His academic excellence culminated in a 3.97 grade-point average and summa cum laude distinction. But it was his hands-on commitment to advancing student success for others that most distinguishes him.

Across more than 1,200 hours of community-engaged service, Medina has worked directly with K-12 students in under-resourced schools, providing individualized academic support, facilitating small-group instruction and mentoring young learners as they navigate their own educational journeys. In dual immersion classrooms, he leverages his bilingualism, supporting Spanish-speaking students in developing both academic confidence and a sense of belonging in spaces where they are often marginalized. He intentionally creates inclusive learning environments that affirm students’ identities, reinforce their capabilities and encourage persistence in the face of challenges.

Beyond the classroom, Medina extends this impact by guiding high school students, including first-generation and multilingual learners, through college and career exploration, helping them envision pathways that may have once felt out of reach.

Wendy Hardy, linguistics

Dean’s Award, College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences

Hardy, who also has a minor in French and American Indian studies, was praised for leaving a lasting impact academically and culturally across the campus community.

Hardy’s work demonstrates the transformative power of language to build understanding, preserve culture and advance justice. Graduating with a 3.958 grade-point average, she displays academic excellence that's matched by the depth of her applied work, from contributing to the Kawaiisu Language Documentation Project in support of Indigenous language revitalization to advancing research on linguistic justice through faculty-led scholarship. She is also a gifted educator, serving as a teaching assistant in French, teaching at the San Marcos Senior Center, and bringing creativity and care to tutoring and mentoring.

As founder and inaugural president of the Linguistics Collective, president of the French Club and a leader on the CHABSS Dean’s Student Advisory Council, Hardy has created spaces for belonging, professional growth and community that will endure well beyond her time at CSUSM.

Casey Budlong, business administration marketing

Gerevas Family Dean’s Award, College of Business Administration

Budlong has made a difference across many student groups on campus, and she was hailed as a purpose-driven student leader whose academic excellence and professional growth reflect the very best of CoBA.

Graduating with a 3.915 grade-point average, Budlong has distinguished herself as a top-performing marketing student with a strong foundation in both the analytical and creative dimensions of the field. Business professor Kristin Stewart said from her experience working with Budlong through a Professional Sales Center social media micro-internship, along with consistent feedback from her professors, she is repeatedly described as reliable, independent and collaborative. Budlong also was lauded for consistently taking initiative and producing work that is both thoughtful and results-driven.

Beyond the classroom, Budlong has made a meaningful impact on campus and in the broader community through leadership and service, including supporting environmental efforts through the Surfrider Foundation and serving as a volunteer board member for the Huntington’s Disease Society of America San Diego Chapter.

Isabel Serrano, biochemistry

Dean’s Award, College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Graduating with a 3.95 grade-point average in a demanding major, Serrano has distinguished herself through academic excellence and the depth and impact of her research.

In the lab, Serrano has made meaningful contributions to the field, developing novel compounds with potential applications in areas like medical imaging and next-generation technology. Her work has led to a peer-reviewed publication and a patent contribution through her internship with Novartis.

Serrano was lauded for how she brings others along with her. As the founding president of Out in STEM and a leader in multiple student organizations, she has created opportunities for her peers to connect and see themselves in STEM fields. She has helped raise funds so fellow students could attend conferences, mentored first-generation students and built communities where people feel like they belong. Outside of campus, she has carried that same commitment into her community, using her bilingual skills to advocate for others. Serrano’s journey is already opening doors for those around her.

Callie Steppat, biological sciences

Dean’s Award, Graduate Studies and Research

Steppat is completing a master’s degree with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average and will continue her education in a Ph.D. program at Cornell.

In the lab, Steppat has built an extraordinary track record by finishing her degree in one year, an unprecedented achievement in the program. She has led five research projects, contributed to six peer-reviewed manuscripts and introduced entirely new lines of inquiry that will continue shaping the lab’s work long after she leaves, according to biology professor Dennis Kolosov.

Kolosov praised Steppat for being an outstanding teacher and mentor, someone who creates supportive, inclusive spaces where students feel comfortable asking questions and building confidence in science. She has co-mentored undergraduate and graduate students in the lab and the classroom, truly embodying the teacher-scholar model, helping lead them to conference presentations and publications.

Outside the university, she volunteers in her community through beach cleanups, supporting dental care for underserved populations and working with veterans in need.

Nayelie Ortiz, sociology

Dean of Students’ Outstanding Leadership Award

Ortiz has built a strong academic record, but Interim Dean of Students Norma Larios said what stands out most is how Ortiz has used her time at CSUSM to lift up those around her.

Since her first year, Ortiz has been deeply involved with the COMPASS Center, supporting undocumented, mixed-status and immigration-impacted students through mentorship, advocacy and day-to-day care. She has helped students navigate challenges and persist to graduation, often stepping in during moments of real crisis to make sure no one feels alone. Whether organizing support for a peer in need or simply showing up consistently with empathy and encouragement, Ortiz leads in a way that is both powerful and personal.

That commitment to others extends far beyond campus. Ortiz mentors first-generation students, coaches youth soccer and volunteers in community safety patrols to support families in her hometown. Even while facing personal challenges, including the impact of devastating fires affecting her own community, she has remained focused on showing up for others.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

“[DIS]COMFORT” is a multidisciplinary exhibition featuring student work that explores the shifting boundaries between comfort and discomfort as they relate to identity, culture and current events. The exhibit celebrates emerging artists as they approach graduation and step into the next phase of their creative careers.

The free exhibition is open to the public and will offer a space for reflection, contemplation and dialogue on the ways we navigate instability, how we comfort ourselves and how discomfort can be a catalyst for growth and transformation.

Visit the exhibition website for more information.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim assistant director of editorial and external affairs
ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

At Cal State San Marcos, President Ellen Neufeldt has turned that conviction into a tradition, hosting her fourth annual student exhibition in her residence. 

Each showing has been curated by professional artist and CSUSM alumna Sarah Bricke, whose continued involvement has helped shape the series into a meaningful space for student expression. 

This year’s showcase, “Forms of Growth,” explores the intricate forms, textures and patterns found in plant life. Through sculpture, photography and drawing, the artists use botanical subjects to reflect on personal and social experiences. 

More than 800 CSUSM students major or minor in the arts within the College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences, and this exhibition highlights the range of its creative community. 

The featured artists this year are Amber Miller, Charlotte Dumbeck, Destiny Kirchner and Rodas Alonzo. 

Amber Miller  

Miller creates sculptures and photos that embody intimacy and proximity to counteract cultures of abuse. Relating Mother Nature with the human body as a shared essence of the soul, she demonstrates the art of connection brought from Mother Nature herself. By relating to nature in this way, her practice seeks to illustrate ways of being that exist outside of structures determined by oppressors. 

Charlotte Dumbeck  

Dumbeck creates art that critiques a global economy sustained by overconsumption and investigates its cultural and environmental consequences. She often experiments with material reversals that embody tensions between organic and inorganic items. Through acts of material transformation, the work invites viewers to reflect on the consequences of everyday consumption and our fractured relationship with the natural world. 

Destiny Kirchner  

Kirchner explores how the structures of plant life can shape the composition of visual art. By casting molds of real plants and pairing them with artworks of botanical studies, she translates plant morphology into both physical relief and visual inquiry. The plaster molds capture the exact imprint of each plant, preserving tiny details that might otherwise be overlooked. These impressions sit alongside illustrated botanicals of native plants in California. Together, they create a conversation between scientific observation and artistic interpretation.  

Rodas Alonzo  

Alonzo uses sculpture to reclaim ancestral Indigenous knowledge related to agriculture, identity, spirituality, gastronomy and ecology. She constructs sculptural forms with colorful patterns using materials such as plaster, wire, cardboard, leavesand clay, allowing organic and industrial elements to interact and reveal the tensions between the living and the inert. These materials trace ecological systems and connect them to ancestral teachings on land management and sustainability in Indigenous communities in Guatemala. 

Across all four artists, plant life becomes a way of asking larger questions about identity, consumption, memory and belonging. The result is a thoughtful exploration of how we connect and grow. 

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

The production, which was directed by “Manai” Alleluia Panis, featured six performances between April 17 and April 26.

“Burden of Proof” is inspired by the true story of Perez’s mother, Leonora, who – along with a second Filipina nurse named Filipina Narciso – was wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for the 1975 deaths of patients at a Veterans Administration hospital in Michigan. A judge later ordered their release due to the prosecutor’s “overwhelming prejudice.”

According to the website, the production “delves into the generational trauma inflicted by the American justice system and how traumatic experiences blur the line between memory and nightmare, told through the lens of the fictional Calinao immigrant family.”

The original score includes text drawn from the diary of Leonora Perez and the writings of Jason.

Perez has been on the faculty at CSUSM since 2019. In 2023-24, he served a two-year appointment as the poet laureate for the City of San Diego.  

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist
bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

Representing Mexico, the team won the Outstanding Delegation Award, and one of the members, senior Matt (McKenzie) Anthony, won an Outstanding Delegate Award.

The conference took place from March 29 to April 2 at the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan.

The CSUSM students were joined by six students from Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pa., creating a joint delegation of 23.  

This marked the first NMUN conference for CSUSM since 2016. The Model United Nations program on campus has been revived by Roni Kay O’Dell, an assistant professor of environmental politics in the political science and global affairs department. O’Dell is the main academic adviser for the Model UN and has advised award-winning Model UN teams for 12 years, including at previous university positions.

“I’m so proud and impressed with the dedication of the students to learn from this experience and to expand their professional skills beyond the classroom and into their future academic, career and other professional development opportunities,” O’Dell said. “The students prepare for months, learning about the country they will represent and practicing and learning negotiation and diplomacy skills. They then put it into practice at the conference, and they always learn a great deal that they apply to expanding their skills and abilities.

“The whole Model UN experience makes an invaluable impression on the students and gives them the opportunity for social mobility and the experience to apply to professional development. We are so grateful for all the help and support across the CSUSM campus to everyone who made the team’s experience at NMUN a success.”

The NMUN conference gives students the opportunity to practice negotiation, speaking and writing skills with more than 3,000 peers from universities across the world. Students are assigned to different committees as they train for and prepare for the conference. They each learn about the history, politics, economy and foreign policy of the country they will represent.

As delegates representing Mexico, the CSUSM students worked in committees with dozens of their peers. They started by giving speeches and simulating the work of delegates at the UN who must bring policy recommendations on the issues to the committee. They then worked with each other (some of the committees have several hundred students) to debate, negotiate and write resolutions that specify how governments can cooperate to solve common security and human rights problems.

Anthony, a criminology and justice studies major, won an award for his outstanding work in the General Assembly second committee on negotiation and diplomacy. He shared the award with Elisabeth Gallagher, a team member from Seton Hill.

“I think the most important aspect of the experience wasn't only the friendships made but the building and strengthening of diplomatic skills that can be used in our future careers and our daily lives as an excellent way to build a strong social framework of friends and colleagues,” Anthony said.  

In addition to Anthony, the CSUSM team included the following students (with positions and UN committees at the conference as well as academic major):

• Jessica Aguilar, Economic and Social Council, first-year political science major
• Miguel Andres Dumani Garaicoa, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, third-year political science major
• Tatum Basco, General Assembly Second Committee, second-year political science major
• Lucia Elia, General Assembly Second Committee, first-year political science major
• Joseph Gominiak, General Assembly Third Committee, second-year history major
• Amira Helmy, Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, fourth-year political science major
• Andrea Fernanda Hernández Corral, General Assembly Third Committee, third-year political science major
• Armany Mendoza Lopez, High Commissioner for Refugees, fourth-year political science major
• Zeenia Najmi, Environmental Assembly, graduating economics major
• Ava Nolen, Human Rights Council, fourth-year political science and global studies double major
• Diana Ortega, Economic, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), graduating political science major
• Monserrat Perez-Manzo, Committee on Narcotic Drugs, first-year political science and criminology double major
• Melanie Reyna; High Commissioner for Refugees, second-year political science major
• Baylee Robinson, Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, third-year political science major
• Ashleigh Skarshaug, head delegate and Environmental Assembly, third-year political science and criminology double major
• Kelly Vu, Economic, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), second-year biology major

More information about CSUSM’s Model UN program can be found at its webpage.  

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

As the kids had just come from lunch, cases of the wiggles were rampant, but it didn’t take long for the man in the middle (with the microphone) to grab their attention.

“If you look at the big screen up here, it says ‘Project Playground,’ and it’s a really cool project that I love to do with fifth-graders,” Howard Chan said as he weaved between the tables in the cavernous space that is the Hub, located on the ground floor of the Extended Learning Building.

“I’ve done like 40 of these, so I’ve seen a lot of different designs, and I’m looking forward to seeing what you all come up with today.”

Chan, the leader of a CSUSM initiative called the K-12 Collaborative, proceeded to explain that the students from Empresa Elementary School in Oceanside would be employing the five-step innovation process to design and create a prototype for a playground. Over the next 45 minutes, the kids used basic craft materials – chipboards, paper straws, popsicle sticks, string, markers – to make models of such classic equipment as swings, slides, monkey bars and seesaws.

As the students buzzed about eagerly – besides the design project and lunch, the day also included a campus tour with a scavenger hunt – Taresa McSpadden sat in the back of the room with a knowing smile. By the following week, all 49 fifth-grade classes across 14 elementary schools in the Vista Unified School District (of which Empresa is a member) would have participated in the same innovation experience, and McSpadden – an innovation teacher on special assignment – has attended every one of them.

“It has been phenomenal,” McSpadden said. “The students are excited. The teachers are excited. Even the parents who come are blown away by not just the Hub but also the experience for their kids. So many of the students have never been to a college campus before.

“I think the most powerful thing we’ve heard from them when they leave is, ‘I think I want to go to college now.’ ”

Chan probably couldn’t have imagined a scene like this a couple of years ago. It was in early 2024 that he met with Scott Gross, CSUSM’s associate vice president for industry partnerships, who oversees the Hub. The meeting marked a reunion for two men who had first crossed paths a decade earlier on a field trip of local educators to Apple headquarters in Silicon Valley.

By 2024, Chan was a consultant for workforce development organizations in the life sciences and STEM industries, and a mutual friend urged Gross to reconnect with Chan.

“The Hub was very focused on CSUSM students and CSUSM faculty, and all of our programming – and frankly all of my thinking – was in that direction,” Gross said. “But we sat down and started having a conversation, which opened up some great ideas about how we could reach back in the pipeline and help K-12 students get exposed to innovation earlier, so that by the time they got to CSUSM, they might be a little more advanced in their experience with innovation and entrepreneurship.”

From that fortuitous get-together, Chan was hired away from his current job and the K-12 Collaborative was born. The first push that Chan and Gross made was in the space of work-based learning, an educational approach (which California is heavily investing in) that uses the workplace to provide students with the knowledge and skills to help them connect school experiences to real-life work activities and future career opportunities.

Work-based learning at the high school level often includes internships, but companies can be reluctant to take on teenagers because of liability concerns. So the Hub decided to leverage its relationships with industry partners to invite them to CSUSM and conduct sessions that incorporate interactive activities or challenges as well as insight into how they connect to the business and the work it does.

“That three-to-four-hour experience now counts as work-based learning because we involved industry,” Gross said. “So we’re meeting a need that the high schools desperately have, and it’s helping us expose these high school students to what college looks like.”

Starting with the launch around work-based learning, the K-12 Collaborative has since broadened into a multi-pronged effort as the Hub keeps innovating in response to needs expressed by its community partners. It now encompasses elementary innovation experiences (such as the design project involving the fifth-graders from Empresa), industry tours for educators, and summer academies and camps.

And the evolution continues. This week, the Hub is collaborating with the College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences and Mosaic Theatricals in Escondido to welcome about 100 elementary school students from the Escondido Union School District for hands-on learning activities led by CHABSS interns. It’s part of Pathways to Purpose, a career-readiness program that provides structured, paid internships for students in arts education and theater arts.

This summer, the Hub will host its first cybersecurity camp, which Chan developed in partnership with the San Diego County Office of Education. And it will bring back its popular Small Business Academy, which debuted last year with Oceanside High School and has grown to include multiple school districts and cohorts. During the week-long academy, students get to meet entrepreneurs, talk to CSUSM faculty and tour local businesses – while each day they make progress on a business pitch that, by the end of the week, they present to a panel for feedback.

“It’s definitely an inspiring week,” Chan said. “There’s a collective energy I'm seeing in this region, a hunger for these types of experiences, which has opened a lot of great relationships and partnerships for the Innovation Hub across industry, higher ed and K-12. This vision we've always had of those three entities, now we're seeing a lot of different folks coming out of the woodwork, collaborating, wanting to work together to better this region and our students’ experiences.”

It’s not just students’ experiences that the K-12 Collaborative is bettering, either. Carrying over an initiative from his previous work, Chan has been periodically gathering groups of educators – a mix of district leaders and classroom teachers – for tours of area industries. In the past year, stops have included such sites as Callaway Golf in Carlsbad, Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, Dr. Bronner’s in Vista and an Amazon warehouse in Otay Mesa.

This semester, Chan is heading up a new cohort called “Leading in the Age of AI.” It’s a four-part series featuring almost 50 educators from about a dozen school districts, with assistance from CSUSM representatives including several professors and even Jackie Trischman, dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The cohort already has visited the San Diego facility of Apple and done a webinar with Google, and this month it will hit Microsoft.

“We know that AI is top of mind and that nobody really has the answers, so we saw our role as being a convener,” Chan said. “Bring people together, give them some information from the companies, let them wrestle with it. I’m curious to see what will come out of it.”

Both Chan and Gross have been pleased with the support that the K-12 Collaborative has received across campus, from the Office of Recruitment and Outreach (which facilitates campus tours) to the Center for Research and Engagement in STEM Education (which assists with the elementary experiences) to academic departments like computer science and engineering.

Perhaps the biggest problem that the collaborative faces is that it almost has grown too quickly. As much as he has taken on, Chan is one person, and he will need help if the venture is to expand further. Gross has explored the possibility of student assistants (whether they take the form of STEM ambassadors or teacher credential candidates), but any long-term effort to scale likely will necessitate funding to hire additional staff.

“Some people might wonder why the Innovation Hub is engaging in this work,” Gross said. “I would say it's a no-brainer, because this is what we want CSUSM to be known for. We want to be known for being on the leading edge of innovation. We want to be known for being the place where students think about going to college. We want to be known as the anchor institution through which educators can grapple with tough stuff. So why wouldn't we do it?”

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

When, in February, the curious people asking those questions weren’t random strangers but rather elite athletes who had just won medals in the most storied sporting competition on earth, Miller-Wing knew that this was the assignment of his dreams.

That assignment: protecting members of Team USA during the recent Winter Olympics in Italy as a special agent with the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS).

“It was a great experience,” said Miller-Wing, who graduated from Cal State San Marcos in 2022. “I lucked out. It was like winning the lottery.”

The DSS dispatches agents to many major international sporting events, and the Olympics opportunity came about only two years after Miller-Wing started working for the agency. One of a few agents chosen from the DSS Boston Field Office, he flew to Milan in early February for initial security briefings before making the trip to the Alps resort town of Cortina, where he was stationed for the rest of the Winter Games.

Miller-Wing was responsible for the Olympic Village that housed the athletes, and he also served as a flex agent, filling in for colleagues at competition venues after they had worked particularly long days. In that capacity, he spent considerable time at the curling center, where a highlight was watching Cory Thiesse become the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in curling as part of her second-place finish (with Korey Dropkin) in mixed doubles.

“I knew absolutely nothing about curling and then, in the Olympics, I think I saw almost 20 full curling matches,” Miller-Wing said. “I now feel relatively confident in being able to explain the rules and strategy. Just enough to be a Monday morning quarterback at the Games.”

Other memorable moments from Miller-Wing’s Olympic fortnight was seeing the famous Jamaican bobsled team – “that was on the bucket list” – and meeting U.S. star skiers Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn. After the Games ended and he was off the clock, he extended his time in Italy by exploring the country with his wife.

It all added up to an unforgettable experience in which the competition in the athletic venues was counterbalanced by camaraderie outside of them.

“All the athletes were phenomenal,” he said. “It didn’t matter if they had just won a medal or if they were really focused on a competition – they always greeted everyone with a smile.

“And working with the other countries was a pleasant surprise. It really reminded me of what we do in diplomatic security, in our normal job, which is working with other nations to enable the diplomats to focus on their job overseas.”

The Olympics have ended, but Miller-Wing’s fulfilling work with the Diplomatic Security Service continues. The law enforcement and security arm of the State Department, the DSS creates a safe environment for the conduct of U.S. foreign policy by protecting the department’s people, property and information. The DSS has the largest global presence of any U.S. law enforcement organization, operating at more than 275 American diplomatic posts in over 170 countries and more than 30 U.S. cities. Miller-Wing is among more than 2,500 Foreign Service specialists working and traveling worldwide (DSS agents are both sworn law enforcement officers and members of the Foreign Service).

A Carlsbad native, Miller-Wing was raised by a mother who worked for the federal government. In fact, her being reassigned is why the family left the San Diego area for Northern California. He was a standout quarterback at Folsom High School outside Sacramento and aspired to play college football, but a shoulder injury sustained at the local community college short-circuited his gridiron goals.

Unsure what to do next, Miller-Wing decided to join the U.S. Army in 2017. After switching over to the Army Reserve, he jumped at an opportunity to return to his hometown as a member of the 416^th Civil Affairs Battalion out of Camp Pendleton.

During his time with that battalion, Miller-Wing had occasion to go overseas and work with DSS agents, many of whom serve as regional security officers at diplomatic posts around the world. He thought the job sounded ideal for him, but he assumed that RSOs were political officers who specialize in national security.

“My mom was working at an embassy, and she said, ‘Hey, did you know that the State Department has special agents?’ ” Miller-Wing recalled. “So I looked into it, and I realized that this is exactly what I want to do.”

With that career track firmly in mind, Miller-Wing set out to revisit higher education. He earned an associate degree at Palomar College before transferring to CSUSM in 2019, six years after he had finished high school. He majored in global studies, receiving particular help along the way from political science professor Meshack Simati.

“The biggest thing that I feared was going back as an adult with a full-time job and responsibilities where I had to take care of things that you don’t have to worry about when you’re 18,” he said. “But CSUSM was accommodating, all the professors were accommodating. And the environment was such that they focused on setting us up to be professionals in the future, not just college graduates. It was unique.”

Miller-Wing started applying for the DSS program almost as soon as he earned his CSUSM degree in May 2022, and he was a special agent stationed in Boston less than two years later. Besides Italy, he has traveled on official business to four other countries, and he hopes that his next posting will be in a foreign nation.

“I’ve worked a lot of jobs in the private and public sector, and this is by far the most rewarding,” Miller-Wing said. “One day you could be on a high-value target warrant, the next you could be on the foreign minister’s detail in Bahrain, the next you could be in Italy at the Olympics. Every single day is different.

“It’s definitely a different life experience than most people, but if you like to travel and want to experience different cultures, then I highly recommend it.”

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

The discussion will take place on Monday, April 6 from 5:30-8 p.m. at the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park. Cassel is a longtime CSUSM faculty member whose expertise is Chinese American history and literature. Yee was among the founding staff of Instructional and Information Technology Services (IITS) at CSUSM in 1990 before proceeding to earn a master’s degree in history from the university.

Titled “The Unexpected Story of the San Diego Chinese Community: From Small Chinatown to Thriving Ecosystem,” the talk will celebrate the impact and history of San Diego’s Chinese community from early Chinatown to the places that anchor it today. It also will include photos and a Q&A session with Cassel and Yee.

The event is presented by the House of China in Balboa Park, in collaboration with the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum and the Chinese School of San Diego. It includes a light meal.

The cost is free for House of China members, volunteers and students, and $15 for all others.

Advance registration is required because seating is limited. To register, text David Seid at 858-699-1900.

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist
bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

The public talk, titled “Knowledge of AIDS: Civic Participation and Activism,” will take place on Wednesday, March 25 from 5:30-7 p.m. at the San Diego LGBT Community Center, 3909 Centre St.

The discussion is being funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant that Spieldenner received in 2023. The guests are activists Cecilia Chung, a senior adviser for the Transgender Law Center; and Charles Stephens, the founder and executive director of the Counter Narrative Project; as well as researcher Tonia Poteat, a professor in the Duke University School of Nursing.

The talk is free and open to the community. It’s part of a workshop series sponsored by the NSF’s Knowledge of Aids network.

Spieldenner has been a CSUSM faculty member for almost a decade. HIV-positive since 1998, he has been an advocate for people living with AIDS and HIV for most of his life, and has established himself as a groundbreaking researcher on topics that affect the LGBTQ community.

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist
bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

Patty joined CSUSM back in 1990, becoming just the second faculty member of the university’s new History Department. She had earlier earned two BAs (one from Georgetown and the other from Oxford) and a Ph.D. in history from Stanford University. As an assistant professor, she immediately began shaping the History Department by adding new courses. She subsequently became chair of the department for more than a decade, mentoring faculty and staff and encouraging their professional growth. Her own scholarship ranged from research into the key role of Sean MacBain in the founding of Amnesty International to publications examining the experience of Irish women working as servants in eighteenth-century England. 

In 2020, Patty retired and became professor emerita. She taught part-time on campus in the Faculty Early Retirement Program until last year.

Patty was a dedicated teacher. She taught at all levels of the curriculum, in multiple modalities and at all hours, offering high-quality courses that inspired countless students. Patty successfully brought her broadly conceived, international perspective of history into the classroom and was consistently one of the highest-rated instructors in the college. Her recognition as the General Thomas S. Jones Distance Learning Instructor of the Year by the U.S. Marine Corps is one of many testaments to her impact as an educator.

Patty was always a tireless advocate for students and was instrumental in making CSUSM a student-centered campus. She secured an AAC&U grant for “Shared Futures: General Education for a Global Century,” and helped launch what is now the Global Studies Department. As program director of global studies, she developed a strategic plan to grow enrollments and hire new and diverse faculty. Patty later received a dual appointment in global studies and in history.

Patty was no less active in the college and the university as a whole. She served as CHABSS associate dean for budget and operations for three years. Her commitment to university service was reflected in her many leadership roles, including two terms as chair of the Academic Senate, multiple terms on the Promotion and Tenure Committee, and several leadership positions within the CFA, including CSUSM chapter president. Patty played a central role in the university's WASC reaccreditation as co-chair of the 1997–2000 Self-Study Steering Committee, even before she became a full professor. Patty received the 2009 President’s Award for Service in recognition of her extraordinary contributions to CSUSM.

Outside of CSUSM, Patty was often to be found at the beach walking Gus, her beloved and enormous Labrador, or visiting friends in the company of Emile, her equally boisterous but much smaller Coton de Tulear. A voracious reader of both fiction and nonfiction, a connoisseur of fine food and wine, a rose gardener, a transatlantic traveler and a passionate champion of intellectual freedom, Patty loved life and learning in equal measure.

Patty’s legacy at CSUSM — through her service, research and teaching — is profound and enduring. She was a source of new ideas, an enemy of complacency, and a catalyst for constant improvement and development. Moreover, Patty often quietly supported her staff, faculty and administrative colleagues in ways that did not bring attention to herself, but were deeply meaningful to those who received these kindnesses.  She helped build our campus, and her influence will continue to be felt by the many students, staff, and faculty whose lives she touched.

Samarasinghe was honored with the Truer Than Fiction Award, which is presented to “an emerging director of nonfiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.” The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant; it’s one of only three Independent Spirit Award categories that offer cash prizes in addition to trophies.

The 41^st annual awards ceremony took place Feb. 15 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.

A lecturer in CSUSM’s art, media and design department since 2021, Samarasinghe is a Sri Lankan filmmaker and visual artist who left his native country during its civil war and is now based in Southern California.

He was recognized for his feature film debut, “Your Touch Makes Others Invisible,” which was released last year. In the film, he blends interviews, news footage and reenactments to explore the painful history of the 26-year Sri Lankan civil war, in which tens of thousands of people (mostly from the nation’s Tamil minority) are believed to have disappeared, often at the hands of military forces.  

“I’m deeply honored, Samarasinghe said. ”More than recognition of a single project, the award feels like an affirmation of the sustained, often difficult work that politically engaged filmmakers do to sit with difficult histories and keep bringing them into view."

Of the cash prize, he said: “It helps me keep making the kinds of films I want to make – work that isn’t always embraced with open arms, whether because it leans toward the avant-garde or because it confronts difficult, often heavy subjects. It's truly an incredible gift that gives me some freedom and stability to keep taking risks.”

Samarasinghe previously has directed multiple award-winning short films. He earned a bachelor’s degree in visual arts from UC San Diego and a master’s in film and video from the California Institute of the Arts.

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist
bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

Fyall will host a stepping dance workshop and artist Q&A from 6-7:30 p.m. on Feb. 24 in the Black Student Center. He’ll be returning to campus on March 3 for an Afro-contemporary dance workshop in ARTS 101 from 1:30-2:45 p.m.

Dance Studies is hosting additional workshops and guest artists throughout the spring, including:

• An artist meet and greet with Safos Dance Theatre from noon-1:30 p.m. on March 10 in the Cross-Cultural Center.
• Safos Dance Theatre with an artist talk from 2:30-3:45 p.m. on March 11 in ARTS 111.
• "Stories From Home" performance by Safos Dance Theatre at 7 p.m., March 13 in ARTS 111.
• K.J. Holmes for a body-mind centering improvisation from 10 a.m.-noon on March 16 in ARTS 101.
• A Dance Studies youth reception at 5:30 p.m., April 29 in ARTS 111.
• The annual spring dance concert at 7:30 p.m. on April 30 and May 1 in ARTS 111.

For more information or to RSVP, visit the Dance Studies Guest Artists webpage.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim assistant director of editorial and external affairs
ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

It was for a semester-long program in Washington, D.C., where students could earn up to 20 semester credits while learning from government leaders and policy experts from across the nation. One of the biggest selling points? All expenses would be covered by the Panetta Institute for Public Policy.

“I almost didn’t believe it,” Manassero said.

But Manassero started researching the institute and its Panetta Congressional Internship program, which has benefited California State University students for more than two decades.

“It’s just a very supportive program,” said Manassero, who is on track to graduate from CSUSM with a bachelor’s in history this May. “The Panetta Institute is very generous, and I'm very grateful for that. One of the reasons that someone like me could go out there – and pretty much most of us who were in the program could – is because the expenses are all covered. They want to provide this experience and get people interested in public policy, and that means involving people who normally wouldn't be able to get involved. I'm just very grateful for them.”

The Panetta Institute annually selects one student from each CSU campus as well as Dominican University of California, Saint Mary’s College and Santa Clara University to participate in the program.

Manassero was selected as CSUSM’s representative after a process that included a panel interview with the Career Center, a meeting with President Ellen Neufeldt and a final interview with the Panetta Institute.

The program matches interns with a member of the California congressional delegation based on their interests. Manassero worked in the office of Congressman Kevin Mullin, who represents the state’s 15^th district, which covers an area south of San Francisco.

Manassero joined other program participants in Monterey last August for a rigorous two-week orientation at the Panetta Institute, which was founded in 1997 by former CIA Director and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and his wife, Sylvia. Then it was off to Washington for a 2½-month assignment on Capitol Hill.

“It was really transformative to talk to constituents on the phone and be that first line of support for them,” said Manassero, who plans to attend law school. “Every intern's experience is different, but for me, I really felt like I was making a difference by talking to people and making sure their concerns were heard. It was very exciting.”

The experience was life-changing, and Manassero hopes other CSUSM students consider applying for 2026. The program is open to upper-division students of all majors. Students can apply through the Career Center website by submitting a two-page essay, a resume, academic transcripts and a copy of a recently graded paper. The Career Center will host virtual information sessions about the program at noon on Feb. 17 and 26. Complete details on the sessions and applying for the internship are available on the Career Center’s Panetta Congressional Internship website.

Manassero emphasized that students shouldn’t be hesitant about applying.

“We had people who were child development majors in D.C. with us, we had finance majors, we had accounting majors, global business majors. We had all these different majors, so anyone who’s interested should apply,” Manassero said. “And no matter what degree you have, there is probably a place in government for you. If you have a child development major, maybe you'll work in the Department of Education or Health and Human Services one day. You never know, so why not apply?

“Meeting the Panettas, my time in Monterey Bay, my time in D.C., all of it was just such a wonderful experience. And I'm very grateful to the Career Center, to President Neufeldt and to the Panetta Institute.”

Learn more about the Panetta Congressional Internship by visiting the Career Center’s  website.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

She thinks about the version who had just graduated from Cal State San Marcos and still harbored some self-doubt, unsure how she would turn her sociology degree into a career.

She thinks about the version who set off for UC Davis as the first person in her family to attend college, but who couldn’t find the support that she needed and ultimately failed out.

Most of all, though, she thinks about 12-year-old Shanelle, a Black girl from southeast San Diego (the “hood,” as she proudly calls it) who had her whole life ahead of her but also had already experienced her share of pain. Watkins even dedicated her doctoral dissertation to that Shanelle.

“That’s when things started to click for me and a lot of questioning started to happen,” Watkins said. “That little girl, I just want to take and hold and heal.

“I think that she probably would think I was really cool. I think she would really like me.”

Now 36, Watkins is devoting her life to ensuring that other young girls – or, more precisely in her case, young women of color – can receive the mentorship that she sometimes got but occasionally eluded her, can achieve the success that she has attained despite the obstacles that dotted her path.

Two years ago, Watkins left her job as assistant director of the Black Student Center at CSUSM – the university she had returned to almost a decade after graduating – to become director of the Chancellor’s Associates Scholarship Program at UC San Diego. CASP, as it's known, awards scholarships to and nurtures during their time at the university local and high-achieving students who come from low-income families – students, in other words, like young Shanelle.

While she was working full-time at CSUSM and now UCSD, Watkins also was studying at both schools part-time, as an Ed.D. candidate in their joint doctoral program. Her dissertation, inspired by her experience running the Black Student Center for three years, explored the challenges faced by Black women student leaders at Hispanic-Serving Institutions within California State University.

“I wanted to know what leadership meant to them,” she said. “How did it come about? Where was it rooted from? Through those questions, I heard very rich stories about the stress of code-switching or feeling like you need to assimilate to fit in or not being seen or being the token Black person in whatever organization or group you belong to.”

She defended her dissertation and officially became Dr. Watkins, but she wasn’t finished with the subject. As an outgrowth of the project, last September she started a company called Leading While Becoming. The leadership organization offers quarterly group coaching cohorts and one-on-one coaching for women of color. She has built a roster of about a dozen clients, most of whom are women in their 20s who are trying to launch their careers.

“I didn't foresee it happening this way,” Watkins said. “I thought my dissertation might be a toolkit to inform college leaders. I didn't think it would be a full-fledged coaching program. But I am glad, because it gives me the opportunity to meet with folks and empower them and watch them grow. It’s doing a lot of the things that I wish I had had.”

What 12-year-old Shanelle did have was a love of education and a thirst for knowledge. What she didn’t have was financial resources or the most stable home life. Her mother, Augusta, was a stay-at-home parent who Watkins said did the best she could to raise her despite confronting personal challenges. Her father, Aaron, struggled with substance abuse problems before he got clean in a drug rehabilitation program and turned his life around.

Aaron Watkins became Shanelle’s rock. After going sober, he got a job in facilities management at UCSD, where he worked nights cleaning science labs and offices for the next three decades. During the day, he worked (and still works) as a delivery driver for Pizza Hut. But he still found time to drive Shanelle to school every day, and to pick her up between his shifts.

“Through his dedication to remaining sober and his hard work, I think he definitely instilled a lot of that in me,” Watkins said.

In contrast to his other two children (Shanelle has an older sister and younger brother), who both played sports, Aaron Watkins recalls Shanelle being laser-focused on academics and ancillary activities – from being part of a radio broadcast with a classmate to serving on a drill team to doing a ride-along with the local police department.

“She was involved in everything she could be,” Aaron Watkins said. “She was almost always self-motivated.”

Her passion for learning, however, didn’t always come with a sense of belonging. When Watkins reached middle school, her family took advantage of a city program that allowed kids from disadvantaged neighborhoods to attend schools in wealthier communities. She went to Correia Middle and Point Loma High School, which both feature predominantly white student populations.

“I questioned if I fit in there or if my family had the money to provide me with the things that I needed to thrive,” Watkins said. “For a little bit, it did kind of dim my light.”

That light grew brighter in high school, when the canceling of her elective choir class because of low numbers led her to the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program, which is designed to prepare underrepresented students for college. On the first day, her teacher, Kellie Larson, told Watkins she would have to go to study hall and turn in notes every week. Watkins, feeling uncharacteristically rebellious, was less than enthused.

“I was like, I’m not doing any of that,’ ” she said. “That whole first semester, her and I beefed so bad.”

Larson persisted, pushing Watkins, encouraging her to take AP classes and sign up for clubs, handing her the tools to succeed that her parents didn’t know existed. By the time she graduated from Point Loma, Watkins had amassed more than $35,000 in scholarships.

“Mrs. Larson and I are still in touch to this day,” she said. “If it weren’t for that choir class not having enough people, who knows where I would be now?”

The appearance of mentors at just the right time would become a pattern for Watkins. After her academic withdrawal from UC Davis – “I was up against a lot of first-gen struggles,” she says – she returned home to attend MiraCosta College, then transferred to CSUSM. As a senior in fall 2012, she gave birth to her son, Seiji, and thought she might have to drop out, again derailing her academic ambitions.

But a group of sociology professors – Watkins called out Karen Glover, Kathy Shellhammer, Sharon Cullity, Mary Roche and Gary Rollison – rallied to her side, pointing her toward maternal services, helping her postpone certain courses, letting her bring her baby to class. One even made a quilt for Seiji.

“The faculty in the sociology department loved on me in places that I needed to be loved on,” Watkins said. “It made me really grateful for my CSUSM experience.”

And when she came back to CSUSM as a staff member eight years later, in 2021, she discovered another invaluable mentor in Gail Cole-Avent, the university’s interim associate vice president for student health and wellness. Watkins says Cole-Avent, her supervisor, taught her how to occupy a leadership role without sacrificing her identity or sense of authenticity.

Watkins’ return to CSUSM was the first in a series of gratifying full-circle moments that have marked the last few years. Her hiring at UCSD brought her to the place where her father worked for a generation before his retirement in 2019 – where she first learned what college was and how life-changing it could be. Even now, she encounters former colleagues of her dad, professors whose labs he cleaned, and they urge her to reach out if she ever needs assistance.

Also, when Watkins decided that she wanted to add a board membership to her expanding resume, she sought out a San Diego nonprofit named CRASH (Community Resources and Self-Help). CRASH happens to be the organization that helped her father kick his drug addiction and begin his life anew way back when. In December, CRASH hosted a holiday party at one of its houses, and Watkins went with her dad, who had been invited as an alumnus of the program.

“Everyone who he ran into, he was like, ‘This is my daughter, she’s on the board, she’s a doctor,’ ” she said. “My dad doesn’t smile a lot, but I could see the pride on his face.”

And here’s one more full-circle moment. Watkins is a business owner, she’s a higher education administrator, she’s a leader. Above all, though, she’s a mother. Seiji is 13 now, almost the same age as the young Shanelle who Watkins often reflects on. He’s in seventh grade, he’s an ardent athlete and, like most teenagers, he thinks he’s too cool for his mom.

“I was a single mom from the time he was three months old, and I would say I think I did a good job,” Watkins said. “He’s a wonderful kid and he’s my best friend. I see a lot of me in him. I always tell him, ‘You’re the greatest thing I’ve ever done.’ ”

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

Kevane Coleman, an administrative support coordinator for the College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences, has been nominated for his role in “The Hot Wing King” at the Cygnet Theatre. Zack King, a lecturer in the School of Arts, has been nominated for his role in “To My Girls” at the Divisionary Theatre.  

“Several years ago, I made a conscious shift to center my work more fully in Blackness/Brownness and Queerness,” Coleman said. “I knew that choice might come with risk. I wondered if I would work less, if narrowing my focus would somehow limit my opportunities. Instead, the opposite has been true. I have continued to work just as consistently as I did when I was primarily performing in white-centered stories, if not more, and my heart is full because the art that I am making now is so much fuller and richer for me.” 

SDTCC is a nonprofit organization of professional writers in San Diego County. The Craig Noel Awards, named in honor of the late artistic director of the San Diego Old Globe Theatre and a champion of the arts nationwide, highlight the excellence of professionals in San Diego theater. Nominees were chosen by an all-volunteer membership of professional critics who write year-round for San Diego newspapers, magazines and online publications.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim assistant director of editorial and external affairs
ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Last year, Ellis was a student in AMD 409: Advanced Graphic Design and Visual Arts, an upper-division class taught by Ghazal Foroutan. The assignment: Using only typography, create a promotional poster for a hypothetical California architecture conference being hosted by CSUSM.

The twist: Some of the posters that resulted would be displayed as part of a new student art gallery in Kellogg Library. Ellis made a poster about acclaimed Israeli-Canadian-American architect Moshe Safdie, and hers was one of 19 selected for the exhibit.

“I was thrilled and honored to have my work chosen to be displayed in the library and kept in the archive,” said Ellis, an art, media and design major who’s scheduled to graduate this spring. “It gave a greater sense of purpose to the project.”

The 19 posters compose the first installment of the Cougar Gallery, which is located on the library’s second floor, occupying the wall space between the Makery’s entrance and the stairwell down the hall. Foroutan said the idea came from a conversation with fellow art, media and design professor Kristin Moss, and it was brought to fruition through a collaboration with multiple employees of the library: associate dean Char Booth, outreach librarian Irma Ramos Arreaga, arts and humanities librarian Torie Quiñonez, and administrative coordinator Arely Ayala.

The initial exhibit has adorned the library’s walls since the start of the fall semester.

“Seeing the students’ work displayed in a prominent campus space has been incredibly meaningful,” Foroutan said. “As a professor, I am proud to share their work with the broader campus community and to see it recognized by the department and the library.

“For students, the exhibition validates their efforts beyond the classroom. Many have already photographed their posters and plan to list the show as a group exhibition on their CVs, as well as include the work in their portfolios.”

The Cougar Gallery, Booth said, fulfills a longstanding desire to increase the presence and visibility of student art in the library. As a prominent display of creative student work, it joins the Data Stacks on the library’s fourth floor.

"By establishing this new gallery, we are showcasing the creative talents of CSUSM student artists and designers and dedicating a highly visible area of the library to School of Arts students and faculty as a much-needed supplementary gallery space,” Booth said.

Once she was assigned Safdie as her subject (other famous architects featured include Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry), Ellis set out to make a poster that would promote a hypothetical discussion with the architect at the conference while also channeling the style and philosophy of that architect. In researching Safdie’s life and work, Ellis was drawn to his design theory, “For Everyone a Garden.”

“He envisions architecture as a living, evolving environment, integrating gardens and green space into almost all of his designs,” she said. “That phrase became my guiding concept and tagline for the poster, inspiring my color palette and imagery.”

Ellis incorporated both physical art and digital design in the creation of her poster. She also designed an accompanying booklet in the same style as the poster to round out the promotional material.

“Over the weeks of working on the project, we all watched each other's concepts evolve in the studio, so seeing them printed professionally and displayed in a space where so many students pass through was very meaningful,” said Ellis, who plans to apply for the CSUSM teaching credential program, with a goal of becoming an art educator.

Foroutan hopes to work with the library to rotate the exhibition at least once a year to showcase as many as much student artwork as possible.

“While the overall framework of the project will remain consistent, I plan to subtly revise the assignment each year to introduce new constraints, tones or conceptual directions, allowing the exhibition to evolve over time,” she said.

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

Swanson, who’s in her fourth year as a faculty member at CSUSM, is serving as a research associate for the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation, a Monterey-based nonprofit that champions science-based solutions to protect ecosystems and strengthen community resilience. She was enlisted last summer by head researcher Jennifer Selgrath to lead the project’s efforts in San Diego County, primarily through the circulation of a survey about ocean access. This spring, she also will help with interviews and focus groups in the area, as well as data analysis and dissemination.

The multiphase project is being funded by the California Ocean Protection Council.

“They want to understand how to more effectively allocate their funds to improve coastal access for all Californians who would like to spend time on our coastline,” Swanson said. “Not just improve access, but improve the experience in these beach/coastal/ocean spaces.”

Swanson said preliminary results from the nearly 5,000 people statewide (about 500 in the county) who have taken the survey show a desire for better-maintained public restroom facilities and training resources that can familiarize people with environmental concerns, including how to interact safely with wildlife. In addition to affecting policy and budget allocation, the results will inform managers of the state’s marine protected areas (MPAs) about Californians’ baseline understanding of the MPAs and national marine sanctuaries along our coast.

“There are numerous other applications,” Swanson said. “We are amassing a truly large and diverse data set that includes voices historically overlooked in coastal management conversations. We envision the data informing state and federal policy toward a new era of improved coastal access for a larger segment of California's population, including inland and marginalized communities who do not always feel safe or welcomed at the coast."

The survey will be open until the end of February. People who fill it out will be entered into a drawing for ocean-related prizes, such as whale watching tours.

The survey can be found at the California Ocean Access website. Contact the project coordinator, Manuela Diaz, at manueladiaz@ucsb.edu for more information as well as social media assets to spread awareness of the survey.

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist
bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

The change in focus was shaped by her deep involvement in Associated Students, Inc., where she serves as the chair and chief of staff of CSUSM’s student government. Through ASI, Chavez joined Lobby Corps, an advocacy-focused volunteer group, and later traveled to Sacramento for the California Higher Education Student Summit, where she met with state legislators alongside students from across the CSU system.

But the final realization of where her career was headed came from an internship opportunity. It was through ASI that Chavez met Zach Bunshaft, CSUSM’s director of government relations at the time.

“Interning with Zach and seeing how higher education policies at the state level affected our campus was so impactful,” Chavez said. “These opportunities, being part of ASI and interning with Zach, changed the trajectory of my life and what I want to do.”

CSUSM’s emphasis on internships proved transformational for Chavez. It not only prepared her for the professional world, it helped her discover the type of work that she’s truly passionate about.

During her time as a government relations intern last spring, Chavez researched legislative officials to strengthen CSUSM’s advocacy efforts, engaged with policymakers at key events and explored ways to enhance student support across the region.

As the internship was nearing its end, Bunshaft met with Chavez to review the experience. When Bunshaft asked about Chavez’s future goals, she told him how much she enjoyed the internship and how the experiences she had were the types of spaces she wanted to be in.

The timing was perfect. Bunshaft had just learned about another internship opportunity with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office. Bunshaft mentored Chavez throughout the hiring process, and she was hired as an external affairs intern for Newsom’s San Diego regional office. Her responsibilities included everything from supporting outreach efforts to drafting briefs and assisting with newsletters.

“Illeana is a thoughtful, driven and reliable leader with an incredibly bright future,” said Bunshaft, who left CSUSM in December to become Newsom’s Southern California regional director of external affairs. “She has the innate ability to see the big picture and work together with others to inspire and achieve common goals.

“I’ve had the pleasure of watching her confidence and skills grow with each new opportunity she enthusiastically embraces. I’m excited to see all that she will continue to accomplish in her academics, career and public service journey.”

Chavez completed the internship with Newsom’s office in December. As she begins her final semester at CSUSM, she’s already looking ahead to the fall. She’s in the process of applying for graduate school to pursue a master’s in public policy or public administration (Cal State Fullerton, Sacramento State and San Diego State are her top choices).

She’ll take the lessons she learned in her internships with her to grad school and beyond. She knows the internship process can be intimidating for students, but she has seen firsthand how it pays off.

“The connections that we make in these internships, you never know where they're going to lead you,” she said. “I never imagined that doing an unpaid internship with Zach was going to lead me to the governor's office.

“Whether it's paid or unpaid, there are so many opportunities. No matter what, even if it seems like you are the most unqualified person in the room to do that job, just go for it. You never know what can come of that opportunity.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Sometimes we get lost in life between that blurry area of who we are as workers vs. who we are as humans.

We often are seen by others — even self-identify — by our career.

Dustin Calvillo didn’t subscribe to this philosophy.

Oh, to be clear he loved his job as professor of cognitive psychology in the psychology department at Cal State San Marcos. There are no doubts about this. He was dedicated to his research, unselfishly helpful to his colleagues and shared his love for the topics he found fascinating with his students.

But he was the type of person to keep his professional passions just slightly but clearly on a rung below his true loves — family and connecting with life.

Calvillo lost a battle with oral cancer in August. He was 49. After nearly 18 years at CSUSM, his loss has loomed heavy over one of the most populous departments on campus.

But his legacy lives on.

The psychology department will host a celebration of life for Calvillo on Friday, Jan. 16, at the Faculty Center Suite. The gathering runs 2-4 p.m. and will include coffee and light appetizers.

“I feel incredibly fortunate to have worked alongside Dustin in many roles during our years at CSUSM,” said Elisa Grant-Vallone, who worked with Calvillo as a faculty colleague as well as in a collaborative position in her role as the CHABSS associate dean of operations & budget. “He was one of the kindest, most compassionate and thoughtful colleagues I have ever known. We team-taught Introduction to Psychology for several years, and although he was earlier in his career than I was, I often found myself learning from him. Dustin was an exceptional instructor. He challenged his students to work hard while, as a cognitive psychologist, thoughtfully designing a framework that gave them the support they needed to succeed.”

Calvillo served as a professor of cognitive psychology who dedicated his work to advancing our understanding of memory, reasoning, decision-making and the ways biases and misinformation shape our thinking.

A product of the California State University system, he earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Cal State Bakersfield. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in psychology (cognitive and perceptual sciences) from the University of California, Santa Barbara. 

Michelle Vogel Trautt is a lecturer in psychology at CSUSM. She knew Calvillo not only as a colleague but also as a mentor during her time on campus in the master’s program.

“Dustin was kind and welcoming,” Trautt said. “He genuinely cared about others. Over time, as our relationship as colleagues evolved, Dustin became a trusted confidant that I could come to for advice, guidance and encouragement. He was dependable, steady and consistent. He was a great leader without ever having to speak of his own accolades. We just knew we were in good hands with him at the helm. His sense of humor and occasional ‘zingers’ made Dustin approachable and relatable.”

What Trautt remembers most as his student in the graduate seminar was how much he “lit up” when talking about cognitive psychology.

Calvillo was universally seen as being reserved outside of the classroom, a persona that changed when a class or seminar started.

“I found it magical to see him become animated and excited about topics we discussed in our course,” said Trautt, who shared what she referred to as “passing-by hellos” on campus. “Even more so, when he would tell a good cognitive psychology joke and see who would chuckle as a measure of who was understanding our very dense, detailed and rigorous content. If you could laugh at the contextualized joke, he knew you were following along and retaining content enough to appreciate it from a humorous lens. It was really special.”

His academic legacy included more than 50 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles-research that will continue to resonate in classrooms, conferences and public discussions about issues that include truth, trust and critical thinking.

Emeritus Professor of Psychology Nancy Caine was already in the department when Calvillo was hired here nearly two decades ago. Caine was coordinator of the graduate program at the same time Calvillo served as department chair so they had overlapping administrative roles, not always easy for a faculty member so dedicated to research and teaching.

Caine noted how his organization and instinct in handling difficult situations made her feel like she had a true friend and partner.

“Dustin epitomized what is, in my opinion, the ideal faculty member at a place like CSUSM,” Caine said. “I really mean that. He was committed to CSUSM as a community, which meant engaging with students, colleagues, and staff on a daily basis. He understood how lucky we all are to have a job that allows us to be part of an academic community where we can be scholars, teachers and contributors to the overall mission of the university — and he did all of those very well.

“He was devoted to the cause of providing opportunities to students from under-represented groups. He set a standard to which every faculty member at CSUSM should aspire.”

Although he was often described as quiet, even shy around campus, Calvillo had an infectious positive demeanor behind a warm smile.

Haylee DeLuca Bishop, the program director for child and adolescent development, interviewed for a faculty position at CSUSM in early 2018. She crossed paths with Calvillo during the search process as he served on the university’s Institutional Review Board.

She recalled that shyness as a first impression that didn’t stick once some time working together passed.

That quiet exterior melted to form a professional bond that eventually had DeLuca Bishop and her husband spending time playing bar trivia while also going to the movies and San Diego Padres and Waves games with Calvillo, his wife Angelica Rocha (a former research associate and assistant director for student support in CSUSM’s Office for Training, Research, and Education in the Sciences) and their daughter Vivian.

“He was the exact colleague I wanted to be,” DeLuca Bishop said. “He was around. He was present. He was available to his students, available to his colleagues. He was a hard worker, incredibly prolific, amazing scholar, but also a great teacher. Students loved him. He was just the whole package. So when I looked at Dustin, I was like, that's pretty much where I want to be if I can.”

Calvillo spent time as department chair, which took him away from some of his scholarly work to be replaced by leading a diverse group of faculty.

He was a natural leader, but both DeLuca Bishop and Caine made it clear it wasn’t his first choice for a career move.

“It was no secret,” DeLuca Bishop said. “He didn't really want to be a department chair. But he stepped into it because he knew he needed to. It was what the department needed at the time, and he was great at it. You couldn't tell him he was great at it. He couldn't hear that positive feedback very much. But he was great at it.”

Said Caine: “Dustin didn’t like being chair. He loved doing research and teaching, both of which had to take a back seat while he served his term.  But he recognized his obligation to take his turn ‘at the helm,’ and as is true of Dustin in every way, he did the job very well.”

He may not have loved his time as department chair, but there was no hiding his true passions. He enjoyed traveling, playing golf, sailing, camping and watching sports, especially soccer and baseball.

But his love for those activities increased tenfold when he could do them with loved ones.

Beyond his professional achievements, Calvillo was a devoted family man who was happiest when he was with his loved ones.

“One of my fondest memories of Dustin was seeing him as a dad,” Grant-Vallone said. “One time (Vivian) had an unexpected day off from preschool, so he brought her along to a search committee meeting. He set up her lunch box and toys, patiently answered her quiet questions, and the love between them lit up the room. Dustin will be deeply missed by everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.”

Now 7, Vivian no longer has her father around, but she has his academic work that hopefully will help her understand his career passions that went beyond showing up to an office 8-5.

“He accomplished a lot, and that's something I've been thinking about in general,” DeLuca Bishop said. “That's one thing I'm happy about. Viv, when she gets old enough, she can go read everything he's ever published. His legacy can live on in that work as well.”

And when she wants to learn about the legacy he left behind beyond campus, the family, friends and colleagues he left behind will have plenty of stories to share.

“It's just a huge loss,” DeLuca Bishop said. “And I feel it every day. I think about him every day still. He’s such a huge loss and he was my go-to person whenever something happened in the department or something I just wanted to vent about. He got it because he did the same job. And so he would know what I was feeling in a way that a lot of other people couldn't, including my partner. So, he was my go-to guy.”

Jennier Lozano is a psychological science graduate student at CSUSM who works in both the MBARC and Misinformation and Memory labs, led by Assistant Professor Lisa Graves and Calvillo, respectively.

As an undergraduate transfer student, she took Calvillo’s cognitive processes course. It was a transformative moment in her life to witness his enthusiasm with understanding human cognitive processes.

Being mentored by Calvillo, which included attending the Western Psychological Association Convention in Riverside in 2023 with his lab, helped her discover her own research interests while solidifying her desire to pursue graduate school.

“As his graduate student, his support, guidance and mentorship have had a profound and long-lasting impact on my life,” Lozano said. “I remember sitting in the back of the class thinking about how fortunate I would be to have an academic mentor like Dr. Calvillo, who was so caring and kind toward all his students. Three years later, I had the privilege to be co-mentored by him and Dr. Graves as a graduate student. I will forever be grateful for his unwavering and invaluable support, encouragement, guidance, and dedication.”

The ironic part of living a full and meaningful life is that we don’t get to pick what people remember about us.

So we build our legacy through showing up. Some days we show up and inspire with our work and through our relationships, while other days we’re simply lucky to show up at all.

Dustin Calvillo showed up.

He showed up for his colleagues and his students. He showed up for people he cared about.

And that’s enough.

“He was just the guy you wanted around,” DeLuca Bishop said. “He was considerate of other people. He would volunteer to make sure someone else didn't have to. He was careful with his words. He cared about his students. He cared about everyone. He was just a thoughtful individual but also a deep, intelligent, bright human being. He was really trying to address problems he saw in the world and trying to improve things, trying to make things better. He saw things going in a direction he fundamentally disagreed with, and he was trying to do research around that. He’s just one of the most thoughtful people I've ever met and in every sense of the word.”

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 2025.

Hunter Industries Gives Transformational $10M Donation for ISE Building

In September, CSUSM announced a transformational $10 million philanthropic investment from Hunter Industries, one of the largest gifts in university history. The donation is supporting the construction of CSUSM’s new Hunter Hall of Science and Engineering, a cornerstone of the university’s commitment to preparing the next generation of engineers and scientists.

Perfect Chemistry: Campus Wedding 16 Years in the Making

If getting married at one’s place of employment seems unconventional, it shouldn’t to those who know biology professor Elinne Becket and chemistry professor Robert Iafe. The passion they have for their students is the same passion they have for the university, so it makes sense that the tied the knot on campus at the McMahan House on campus.

CSUSM Kicks Off Historic $200 Million Fundraising Campaign

Through the largest fundraising campaign in university history, CSUSM is aiming to raise $200 million to support student success and power the region’s future. The university officially launched its “Blueprint for the Future” campaign on Sept. 19. It’s an effort that combines philanthropy with grants and research funding. The campaign’s theme reflects both the physical growth on campus and the forward momentum building at CSUSM. 

Professor Elevates Samoan Language, Culture as Consultant for "Moana 2"

Professor Grant Muāgututiʻa never could have dreamed that linguistics would take him to the shores of Oʻahu as he rubbed elbows with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and other stars of the Disney glitterati before the world premiere of the animated film “Moana 2” in 2024. 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.

Construction of New Wellness and Rec Center Underway

CSUSM held a Construction Kickoff on Nov. 12 to celebrate construction being underway for the Student Wellness and Recreation Center (SWRC), which is expected to open by summer 2027. CSUSM is partnering with Sea Breeze Properties – developers of North City, which includes CSUSM’s North Commons, The QUAD and the Extended Learning Building – on the SWRC, which will be the latest addition to campus life.

Faith, Resilience Help Athlete Through Life-Threatening Crisis

It all started with a headache. A seemingly normal ailment, but Malachi Wright doesn’t get headaches. And he definitely doesn’t get headaches that force him to leave work early or have him confined to the couch and throwing up for three straight days. That's when his mom, Ivonne Mancilla, knew this was something more. Wright spent the next 40 days in the hospital, undergoing three brain surgeries with no idea what the future would bring. But Wright defied all odds. 

Alumna Finds Purpose in Advocacy for Native Children and Families

As Maya Goodblanket reflects on her time as a student, she vividly remembers the day she found the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center at Cal State San Marcos. Little did she know that she was meeting mentors that day who would help her achieve the career she has today. Goodblanket, a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, serves as an Indian Child Welfare Act court advocate for the Valley Center-based Indian Health Council, which provides health and wellness services for American Indian communities in north San Diego County. 

Ask the Expert: A Scientific Perspective on the L.A. Fires

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.

Cougar Care Network Marks 10 Years as a Campus Hub for Connection

Built on listening first and guiding without judgment, the Cougar Care Network enters its second decade as a trusted stop for students seeking practical help, community and a path forward. The Cougar Care Network (CCN) launched in fall 2015 as part of Cal State San Marcos’ Early Support Initiative within the Student Outreach and Referral (SOAR) program. 

Chronic Illness a Journey of Strength, Self-Discovery ... and Salt

The first time Emmi van Zoest rode in an ambulance was in May 2024. She was in the middle of her 10:30 a.m. Communication 200 class when she realized her vision and hearing were failing. She couldn't keep her legs or arms straight and she couldn’t speak. The full memory is hazy, but she found herself sitting outside of Crash’s Market in the University Student Union with a handful of salt packets and on a Facetime call with her parents, who live in Tennessee. This experience didn’t come out of nowhere. She has postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, a chronic condition that she has lived with since her junior year of high school.  

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Barring a disastrous outcome of her finals, she will finish as a member of the College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences dean's list in six of her seven semesters. And the one semester she didn’t earn it – fall 2024 – she was a bit preoccupied by having a baby.

“And I was really close,” she said of her near-perfect dean’s list record.

Aquino will walk in fall commencement at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside during the CHABSS ceremony next week, knowing that she accomplished her goals while allowing nothing to get in the way of her path.

And her life journey has been winding.

Born in Guam, Aquino has lived in Kentucky, Germany and California. She resided in Germany with her parents after her high school graduation before returning to the U.S. and beginning her undergraduate studies.

She maintained the life of a normal college student, working and earning exceptional grades while living with her boyfriend and his family.

Then came the surprise.

While some students will naturally take a break – her mom was a college student when she got pregnant with her and her brother and never returned to finish her degree – Aquino was determined to not let baby Phoenix be the reason for her slowing down her journey.

“Since finding out I was pregnant, I knew I wasn’t going to fall,” she said. “I knew I was going to keep going.”

In fact, the preparation and ensuing birth of Phoenix, who turned 1 in November, drove Aquino to quicken her pace. To reach higher to prove to herself, her daughter and her support system that she can accomplish anything.

Her near-perfect placement on the dean’s list and overall GPA of 3.67 says otherwise, but it wasn’t easy.

“It was a lot of planning,” said Aquino, who commuted from Murrieta throughout her time at CSUSM. “I went through the previous semester and the whole fall semester pregnant, so I had to plan ahead for a lot of things like taking exams early and completing homework assignments early to give myself a cushion. It was a lot of planning with logistics, but I think we made it work.”

After the arrival of Phoenix – Aquino wanted a unisex name for a girl just like her own – she went to school mostly in the mornings while her boyfriend attended in the evenings. Gabriel Madrigal is an accounting major who plans to graduate in May. They received help from his parents as well as friends.

Aquino is also quick to point out how much CSUSM faculty has helped her in various ways. In particular, Kathie Sweeten, a lecturer who taught an infant and childhood development course while Aquino was pregnant, was influential. Lecturers Neal Dykmans (psychological science) and Melissa McGuire (history) went a long way toward providing an understanding environment.

Exactly one week after giving birth, she returned to campus to take a history final. Within days of finishing her finals, she took classes in the subsequent winter session.

Aquino said she derives her strength and dedication from her parents.

“I get opportunities they never got to pursue higher education,” she said. “Now that she’s born, I want to provide her a better life and a better future than even I had.”

Aquino plans to apply for the new Master of Science in clinical counseling psychology program that will start next fall.

She has talked to psychological science professors Lisa Graves and Francisco Flores Ramirez about graduate school as she charts a course to eventually earning a Ph.D. in neuropsychology. She wants to work with military veterans.

Her parents are coming from Germany to share in her celebration on Monday. Her brother had a baby just last week and he’ll be there, too. Madrigal and his family also will attend.

The marking of the moment will be large, no doubt. But to Aquino, there was never an option of not finishing at the highest level she possibly could.

“I feel very proud,” she said. “But I also feel like it’s doable. Life just kept throwing things at me left and right all throughout my college years. But it’s nothing you can’t get past or you can’t overcome. It’s just life, and it happens. You take it and you adapt and you do your best with it.

“It’s the system of values I’ve had my whole life. No matter how hard it is, life just keeps moving. You’ve got to move along with it.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Spenard, you see, is an archaeology professor at Cal State San Marcos, and it was in about late August that archaeologists from around the world suddenly found themselves being bombarded with attention. As Spenard can attest, that’s not the normal reality for a scholar in his field.

The reason for the surprising interest in archaeology? In August, the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego League Challenge – an international competition for elementary and middle school students that attracts almost 700,000 kids – released its annual theme: “Unearthed.”

As the website states: “Every artifact we uncover holds a story. Each tool, each innovation, each work of art connects us to the people and ideas that came before us. Using STEM skills and teamwork, today we can dig deeper into discoveries than ever before.”

Almost overnight, Spenard was on speed dial.

“No one was expecting this,” Spenard said. “Every archaeologist and museum I know was suddenly flooded with calls and messages requesting meetings.”

So it was that on the afternoon of Nov. 24, Spenard met with a FIRST Lego League team named Bikini Bottom Brick Builders – three middle school girls from Temecula and their parents – in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Building. The team was trying to build a LiDAR scanner – an acronym for “Light Detection and Ranging,” LiDAR is a remote sensing method for creating 3D models of the real world – and Spenard talked to them about how the technology works, how it relates to archaeology and how they could use their newfound knowledge to make better scans.

That consulting session was the latest of about a dozen that Spenard has conducted this semester – some on campus, some by email, some at a public archaeology event that he attended in October (Arch in the Park in San Diego).

“The groups and their parents do deep research,” he said. “I think many found me through our departmental website.”

Each year, the FIRST Lego League introduces schoolkids to a scientific and real-world challenge that will be the focus of their research. The competition involves designing and programming robot prototypes with Legos to complete tasks, and working out a solution to a problem related to the theme. The students meet for regional, national and international tournaments to compete, compare ideas and display their robots.

Spenard’s assistance to teams in the region has run the gamut, from conveying the general nature of archaeology – hint: as he says, “it’s not dinosaurs!” – to listening to presentations to providing feedback on early design prototypes.

Though wholly out of the blue, the experience has been a rewarding one for him.

“My hope, more than anything, is that these kids have walked away with a much better understanding of what archaeology is and how it is done,” Spenard said. “My impression is that, collectively, these kids are doing amazing engineering work that will revolutionize the field of archaeology and many others someday.”

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

So imagine her surprise when director Antonio Muñoz de Mesa approached Strother – a Spanish professor in the Cal State San Marcos modern language studies department – about playing a significant role in his international revenge action film, “Santa Zeta.”

“He wanted someone who looked fairly innocuous, kind of like a soccer mom,” said the 59-year-old Strother, who has taught at CSUSM since 1993. “He wanted someone to surprise the audience who looked like your everyday innocuous person who would actually be a villain.”

The Spanish film wrapped in 2024 and recently hit the film festival circuit, which included winning the Award of Excellence in the feature film category at the third annual Santa Barbara Indie Film Festival in September. The film made its U.S. debut at the festival.

CSUSM’s Global Commitment Committee will screen it as its featured film March 9 in the University Student Union. De Mesa has agreed to join the discussion for the screening, either in person or via Zoom.

“Santa Zeta” was filmed in Spain and South Korea, with Strother’s scenes shot in San Marcos. Her scenes are listed as being filmed in Escondido because Escondido means “hidden” in Spanish, and it’s a play on words for the many hidden meanings within the movie.

The film’s synopsis (from IMDb): “A super famous travel influencer, Santa Zeta, uses her social media as a cover to travel the world hunting pedophiles, obsessed with finding her little sister’s killer.”

Strother plays the role of Amelia, a seemingly innocent woman with a sinister side.

“I caught the bug of embracing other new challenges,” Strother said. “I think when you’re asked to do something difficult, you’re not sure if you can do it. And then you do it, and it turns out well. That gives you the confidence of, ‘Well, I wonder what’s next.’ ”

Strother spoke on the panel after the Santa Barbara screening, which was attended by her family along with de Mesa, the production manager and other cast members. The film was the feature event Friday night for the weekend’s festivities.

In addition to teaching and service, every CSUSM tenure-track faculty member must perform research and creative activity as part of their duties.

For Strother, before 2024 that consisted of writing academic articles and books about 17th-century Spanish theater. What the film experience gave her was a new perspective on viewing the creative process of cinema.

She said she was thrilled to be on the panel for a Q&A session after the debut screening so the audience could see her true personality.

“I play a very unflattering character,” she said. “I play a character who does something evil, despicable things. It was kind of exhilarating. I was able to step outside of myself and say, ‘Oh wow, I really did that.’ It’s an accomplishment I achieved in life that lives there forever.”

De Mesa has 48 credits to his name on IMDb, including actor, director, producer, writer and editor.

As the director of “Santa Zeta," he knew immediately that he wanted Strother for the role despite her lack of acting experience. They had connected many times when Strother was presenting research in her area of expertise.

“Although Darci didn't have experience as an actress working in films, I knew her for many years and was totally sure that she could perform this role with the help of an acting coach,” said de Mesa, who was born in Madrid. “I needed an actress for the role of Amelia with a calm, intelligent energy. That's why I thought of Darci right away. Her sensibility and closeness to the acting community made it super easy to work with her in her sequence.”

The request from De Mesa came at what can only be called an inopportune time. Strother had just begun caring for her daughter, who was recovering from what Strother described as a serious surgery.

In the same week, she also had been asked to moderate the Global Commitment Committee’s informal conversation with students leading up to the 2024 presidential election. She was acting as GCC’s interim chair.

And she had been asked to substitute teach for a class of a subject she “really didn’t know.”

“All of these things that came together made me actually feel weirdly relaxed because it felt like, OK, life is throwing me all these curveballs and opportunities, and I'm not expecting of myself to do anything more than what I can do,” Strother said. “I think if I had only done the film that week, I would have just been obsessing and worrying about it. Because there were so many things going on, I was taking things one step at a time – 'I'm going to do it,' and everyone in the cast and crew made me feel really relaxed.”

Faculty in the College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences are often looking for new avenues to create and innovate – to go beyond the classroom to share experiences that inspire and introduce career paths beyond a straight line.

Earlier this semester, Strother showed some still photographs from the film and pictures from the festival to her classes. She presented the images from the perspective of doing big things when you’re not expected to. Particularly when it comes to art, she wanted her students to understand that it’s never too late to take risks.

Even a faculty member with decades of experience in academia can become a screen actor.  

“It was very unexpected, but I’m kind of at that point in my life where if someone asks me to do something and I don’t think I can do it, I say, ‘Sure, why not? I’ll try it anyway,' ” Strother said. “I might succeed, I might not succeed. I have the luxury of being at a point in my career where I can try new things and take risks.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

As it often goes, he didn’t hear back from one of the groups he reached out to – True Concord Voices and Orchestra based out of Tucson, Ariz.

On a gig months later in Santa Fe, N.M., the Cal State San Marcos associate professor of music was approached by a fellow tenor explaining how a group in Tucson needed another tenor for an upcoming project. Humble booked the trip and enjoyed a week of recording and camaraderie.

“The first conversation I had with the conductor was him sort of sheepishly saying, ‘Hey, I’m really sorry that I never responded, but I do really like your audition materials and we’d love to have you sing with the group,' ” said Humble, who is co-chair of the music department and also filling the role of director of the dance studies program.

About six years later, a weeklong recording session with True Concord resulted in “A Dream So Bright: Choral Music of Jake Runestad,” which debuted in August 2024 at No. 2 on Billboard’s Classical Albums chart. Three months later, the recording was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance, a realization of a lifelong dream for Humble.

True Concord didn't win when the Grammys were held last February. But the experience of recording and, months later, riding the wave of the highest nomination for a recording artist is one that Humble puts high on his list of career accomplishments.

And it came with the group that previously had ignored his inquiries.

“It’s up there in the top for sure,” said Humble, who has performed at such iconic venues as the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and the Library of Congress. “It’s not something you can will to happen because you’re relying on democracy. You’re relying on the members of the (Recording) Academy, the majority of whom I don’t know. And so it does feel like this sort of grassroots recognition of an accomplishment.”

In his career as a solo artist, Humble has performed in opera, recital, concert and chamber music venues, enjoying solo appearances with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Boston Pops. During his tenure singing with Cantus out of Minneapolis, he sang more than 800 concerts and recorded 10 albums with one of the nation’s premier vocal ensembles.

CSUSM's School of Arts is making a concerted effort to hire and encourage its faculty to stay active in their respective industries.

Ching-Ming Cheng, music co-chair, gives piano concerts both solo and with renowned performers routinely. She just completed a fall series of concerts with cellist Paul Tseng and harpist Vanessa Fountain throughout San Diego County, including on campus and at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.

“Part of it is to feed my artistic soul and sort of keep that fire burning,” Humble said. “Creative activity is part of our scholarship as applied faulty in the arts, so that’s part of it. But in terms of teaching, it also helps me stay relevant. I’m teaching students how to practice, how to perform, and if I stop doing it, I won’t be as good at teaching that.”

Originally from northeast Ohio, Humble was the director of choral activities at Minnesota State University, Mankato before coming to CSUSM. A graduate of Millikin University in Illinois, he has a Doctor of Music degree in vocal performance and literature from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Humble and his husband, Xu Zou, have a home in New York primarily for Zou’s work there. Their main residence is in South Park with their two cats, Chopstick and Toothpick.

Humble and Cheng are in the process of proposing a music recording and production degree program in the music department. Music technology is currently a minor.

“I think that will bring a whole different set of students here as well,” Humble said. “And for the students who are really looking for that ramp into a vocation, into a career, that’s a great degree for them.”

His dream is to host a music therapy program at CSUSM. There are no such programs in San Diego, an area rich with the therapeutic power of music.

Humble directs the university choir, which is an SATB (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) ensemble that is open to students of all majors and other members of the campus community. The choir does not require an audition.

Humble slowly has been building small group opportunities for students who are looking for more advanced repertoire. That’s innovation.

For him, it’s about finding the right pace and fit while pushing the students to discover new opportunities within themselves. That’s acceleration and cultivation, the key tenets behind CSUSM’s Blueprint for the Future fundraising campaign, in which the College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences lists “Anchoring the Arts” as one of its two initiatives.

“I don’t know if we’re quite there yet, but we’re close,” he said. “It’s just nice to give those students who want that extra challenge with harder repertoire, with things that are a little more on the art music side of things and might challenge students in a way that those kids want but other students don’t want. To have space for them to do that.”

The concert that the music department is working on this semester is about belonging and unity.

Earlier this semester, Humble wasn’t feeling well at choir rehearsal while recovering from getting vaccinated. He ended up having a great rehearsal and left feeling much better.

It reminded him that he hears the same from students often. They may arrive to campus in a bad mood but leave their interactions upbeat and ready to go on with their day.

Being on the receiving end of that community of care is a gentle reminder that he and other faculty often provide the same.

“People need those safe spaces more than ever and those moments of community,” Humble said. “I feel really fortunate that I get to teach in a place that wants that for all of our students. And that I get to make music and build that community in an artistic environment with my students as well.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Fitzpatrick, a second-year media studies student at Cal State San Marcos, has had a passion for writing ever since she was young, creating short stories and pretending she was a New York Times bestselling author. When she became interested in broadcast journalism in high school, she convinced her parents to let her change her elective and she joined Westview's broadcasting class. Her passion instantly ignited.

As a high school sophomore, she learned about PBS News Student Reporting Labs (SRL). Fitzpatrick and a few of her classmates helped produce a podcast segment for SRL about teen mental health and high schoolers’ plans after graduating. This inspired Fitzpatrick to create her own podcast. By her junior year, she and her classmates had created their high school’s first podcast, “Wolverine Pause.” It was there that Fitzpatrick interviewed many people, including Fox 5 San Diego weather anchor and reporter Megan Healy. 

Fitzpatrick has enjoyed every aspect of her journey in broadcast journalism, from conducting interviews to filming, editing and being behind the scenes. She loved the experience as an anchor for her school’s newscast but thought that it was too scripted at times. Fitzpatrick prefers to take a more authentic route, reporting on the scene or searching out individuals to interview in their fields rather than reading off a teleprompter.

“I really love interviewing people because that’s when you get that one-on-one connection and you learn the most about them,” Fitzpatrick said. “But I also do like being behind the camera and editing because I feel that's when you see the magic of it all coming together.”

After working with SRL on the podcast segment and experiencing the support and mentorship from members of PBS as a high school student, Fitzpatrick decided to apply for PBS News' College Climate Reporting Fellows program as she was preparing to attend CSUSM. After a highly competitive application process in which she had to create a pitch on a climate issue, Fitzpatrick was one of 10 students across the nation selected for the program, joining students from schools including Cornell, Penn and USC.

Fitzpatrick co-produced two stories focused on climate issues.

The first story came during the SRL’s summer academy trip to Washington, D.C., where she had the opportunity to meet PBS News reporters, ask questions and gather advice about broadcast journalism. The story Fitzpatrick worked on was about Vihaan Mathur, then a 19-year-old climate activist attending UC Berkeley. The story focused on his work combating climate issues, donating to local schools and writing a children’s book about climate change. Fitzpatrick and her team came up with interview questions and shared editing responsibilities. When it was time for filming, Fitzpatrick conducted the interview and recorded the voiceover. Sharing roles with her teammates allowed Fitzpatrick to experience every aspect of creating and producing a news story.

The second story was more hands-on. Fitzpatrick was assigned to a group with other SRL members to come up with another story on environmental issues. Her team focused on the language barrier between Spanish and English speakers, and how this makes discussing climate issues more difficult. Highlighting a USC newsletter called “Sustainability Sin Fronteras,” which aims to inform Los Angeles’ Spanish-speaking communities about climate issues, Fitzpatrick’s group interviewed the newsletter’s co-founder, Mayte Abrica. They also interviewed Miguel Ordeñana, the senior manager of community science at the Natural History Museum, which works to bring climate education to L.A. residents. 

Fitzpatrick and her group spent three days in L.A., brainstorming interview questions, dividing work duties and filming through pouring rain to piece together their story.

“There was a lot of rain, we were cold, we were wet, and we had to protect these very nice cameras as we hiked through muddy trails,” Fitzpatrick said. “We were just happy we got through it. It was such a great experience.”

Working with SRL and co-producing stories has provided Fitzpatrick with much knowledge and experience as she continues on her journey pursuing broadcast journalism. She loves exploring new topics of research and enjoys the connections she forms with the people she interviews. In the future, she hopes to continue her work with PBS or branch out to other news outlets focused on making change.

“I want to tell stories about important issues like war, politics or underrepresented communities,” Fitzpatrick said. “I want to tell stories that have substance to them, stories that matter, where people will turn on the news and feel they need to listen.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

As a Mexican American child of a single parent from a low-income household, he felt a level of pressure to find a place where he thought he belonged. This pressure was amplified by Haro’s identity as a transgender man.

He felt alone on campus – othered – because he rarely saw his identity reflected around him.

“I didn’t see myself in my peers or professors,” Haro said. “I always tell people I’m a triple threat because I’m brown, I came from poverty and I’m trans. A lot of things have happened in my life, so it's hard to find people who relate to me without disclosing all those things.”

Haro graduated last spring with a degree in social sciences, and he now works on campus as a basic needs assistant for the Cougar Care Network. The impact of his work on campus earned him the President’s Student Champion Award for Inclusive Excellence and Diversity this year, and he was honored as the winner at the All Peoples Luncheon on Oct. 23.

“Every human being has a right to basic needs, and we should not have to suffer to acquire them,” Haro said during his acceptance speech.

By his senior year at CSUSM, Haro realized that what was blocking him from connecting with others was the internal shame he carried as a transgender man. With that in mind, he not only began working on self-acceptance but also sought to be a representation of transgender people in higher education that he longed to see.

Last academic year, Haro learned about an opening for a civic engagement ambassador through Service Learning and Civic Engagement. He was drawn in by the office’s advocacy and decided to apply. In his application, he stated that while he is committed to neutrality, his passion is in helping those from underrepresented communities.

Soon after becoming an ambassador, Haro began creating a comprehensive and easy-to-understand CalFresh guide for CSUSM students.

After going through the challenging and confusing process of applying for CalFresh as a transgender man, Haro used inspiration from his mother to help motivate him to push for a change.

“My mom was like, ‘If you don’t like something, then do something about it. No one’s gonna do it for you,’ ” Haro said.

The guide is a tool to help all students, but it also highlights issues that transgender students seeking basic needs might encounter, such as what to do when their preferred name doesn’t match their legal name. This was not only a way for Haro to help other students on campus, but also a tool for self-empowerment.

“I wanted to create this guide for every student, because getting basic needs is what you deserve. It shouldn’t be so difficult,” Haro said.

While his guide focuses on the experiences of transgender, undocumented and mixed-status students, it is for everyone, and Haro encourages all students to apply for CalFresh.

“More than half of our students probably qualify for CalFresh, and they’re not doing it because they either don’t know what it is or they have some shame around it,” Haro said. “But if you need that help, there’s no shame in receiving it. You don’t need to suffer for your basic needs.”

Breaking the stigma around public assistance programs like CalFresh was also one of Haro’s goals with the CalFresh guide. He saw the shame his mother felt in using programs like CalFresh, Section 8 and Medi-Cal. That shame was amplified by how people reacted when his mom pulled out her benefits card at the grocery store. He said he doesn’t want to see other people struggle the way his mother did just to fulfill their basic needs.

“Your physical health, your mental health, food impacts both of those,” he said. “Statistics show that when you have a lack of basic needs, you’re not showing up to class and your grades are dropping. How are you supposed to thrive in school and get your degree if all you’re thinking about is how hungry you are?”

Haro has found that seeking assistance can be empowering rather than bringing shame.

Creating the guide wasn’t easy. The CalFresh application contains technical language that can be hard for some to interpret. It required cross-referencing documents, taking notes while completing his own application and interviews, and spending hours on research. Every conversation Haro had with a CalFresh representative during this process became a valuable tool to help students.

“I wanted the guide to be empowering for people,” Haro said. “Yes, the process is difficult, but once you get the benefits, it’s totally worth it.”

Along with the CalFresh guide, Haro has also collaborated with various university departments and student organizations to raise awareness about social justice, voting rights and public policy issues. In 2024, he won the Innovation Hub’s Social Innovation Challenge for his proposal to redesign CSUSM’s commuter hub into a lounge focused on students’ comfort and basic needs. Last year, Haro also contributed artwork that centered on transgender joy and the normalization of transgender identities on campus.

The picture, which is on display in the University Student Union, features Haro shirtless, three months after his top surgery. Haro described being open about his transness as “so incredibly scary but so empowering” and “filled with self-love.”

As Haro continues his work with the Cougar Care Network, he’s thinking beyond the campus community. What began as a way to navigate his own challenges is now opening doors for others, a step toward lasting change built on lived experience and compassion.

“This is representation,” Haro said. “I’m happy, I’m thriving and I’m filled with joy because of who I am.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Long before he was an assistant professor of history at Cal State San Marcos, Amador was a doctoral student at New York’s Stony Brook University who was doing field work for his dissertation in Mexico. Hoping to comb through the historical archive of the people of Temacapulin, a small town northeast of Guadalajara, he was surprised to learn that they didn’t have one. What they had was thousands of documents piled haphazardly into boxes, all too vulnerable to environmental damage in the event of, say, a flood.

Helping to organize the town’s historical record wasn’t part of Amador’s dissertation, but his conscience wouldn’t allow him to return to New York with the papers in such disarray. So he gave himself a crash course in archival studies – which traditionally is more the domain of librarians – and, with the aid of some volunteers from the community, he led an effort in 2022 to whip the archive into shape.

During the three months that Amador was in Temacapulin, word of his project spread to neighboring towns. It just so happened that the Indigenous community of San Juan de la Laguna (La Laguna for short) was in the midst of an effort to organize its own historical documents. The people behind it invited Amador to town, and he discovered that this project involved almost twice as many documents (nearly 20,000), stretching back more than a century earlier, to the late 1600s.

“When I saw that this project was a different beast compared to the first one,” Amador said, “I knew we needed more resources and more help.”

After a hiatus of a few years – during which he finished his dissertation, earned his Ph.D. from Stony Brook and was hired by CSUSM – Amador finally found himself in position to revisit the La Laguna archive. Last spring, he received a $15,000 grant from the Endangered Archives Programme of the British Library, the largest library in the world and the home of such storied pieces as the original Magna Carta.

Over the summer, Amador spent two weeks in La Laguna, and the funding not only paid for his trip, but allowed him to purchase laptops and hire and train five members of the community as full-time workers on the 10-week project.

“I never imagined I’d end up in this field, but it truly offers incredible opportunities,” he said. “I get to meet new people and develop skills in an area where, surprisingly, historians often know nothing about – archives. You’d think that’s odd, like chemists not learning about the equipment in their own labs. Now that I’m doing this work, I realize just how striking that gap is between what historians do and the archival side of their profession.”

Amador streamlined and accelerated a process that had progressed in fits and starts since his initial visit to La Laguna three years earlier. In helping gather the materials, he found that many of them were stored in unfavorable conditions, such as sacks, cardboard boxes and bound together with string. Many also were marked with water stains.

As the group surveyed and created an inventory of the documents, they encountered samples both mundane (countless tax receipts) and captivating. One example was a paper record of a legal battle in the early 20^th century between a town resident and an immigrant from Lebanon.

“How did a man from Lebanon end up in this little town?” Amador said. “That whole story sounds fascinating. Discovering history through these documents is, in a way, truly thrilling.”

Beyond just the work itself, the biggest challenge that Amador faced was gaining the trust of an Indigenous community that traditionally has had a fraught relationship with the local government and the outside world at large.

“With me coming from the United States, people wondered, ‘What are his priorities? Why is he here helping us? What’s in it for him?’ ” he said. “It really came down to open communication – reassuring them that I’m doing this because I love the work and involving them in the process as much as possible.”

As the grant-funded initiative wraps up this fall, Amador is considering a return to La Laguna in January to review the finished product in person. And as the domino effect continues, the second project might lead to a third one.

Another nearby Indigenous community heard about the work Amador led in La Laguna and requested his support for its archival project, which features more digitized material instead of old, yellowing papers. For that one, which remains in the preliminary stages, he is coordinating with classically trained archivists, namely Sean Visintainer and Jennifer Ho of the CSUSM University Library. He’s also talking with Visintainer and Ho about the possibility of introducing and teaching a history course in archival studies.

“I really did stumble into this type of work. I still am even hesitant to call myself an archivist,” Amador said. “I'm learning so much, and there's still so much for me to learn. But it does seem like this is where my career is headed – bringing archival studies and history together in some way.”

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

Goodblanket was nervous about checking out the CICSC. She didn’t know anyone on campus and was unsure about going inside. But she mustered the courage to open the door, and all of her anxiety disappeared as she was instantly welcomed.  

Little did she know that she was meeting mentors that day who would help her achieve the career she has today. Through intentional support from faculty and staff and inclusive spaces like the CICSC, CSUSM equips students to lead with identity, purpose and impact. 

“I was looking for that connection to my culture, and I found it on campus,” said Goodblanket, who received a bachelor’s degree in psychological science and a Master of Social Work at CSUSM. “I'm an out-of-state Native. My tribe is from Oklahoma, so I always am searching to reconnect with tribal communities and tribal culture.” 

Goodblanket, a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, serves as an Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) court advocate for the Valley Center-based Indian Health Council, which provides health and wellness services for American Indian communities in north San Diego County. Any families involved in a child welfare case, such as a juvenile dependency proceeding, can rely on Goodblanket for support. 

"I work with moms and dads who are struggling with a variety of challenges," Goodblanket said. "One is substance abuse. My job is to support families in doing what they need to do to reunite with their kids if they’re not currently in a place to have them back. I also work with caregivers and family members who have taken placement of the children." 

Goodblanket’s cultural connection is at the heart of her advocacy. Under the ICWA, child welfare agencies must prioritize placing American Indian children with relatives or within their tribal communities whenever possible.  

“Natives are still removed at a disproportionate rate by child welfare services,” Goodblanket said. "When children are disconnected from their culture, their long-term outcomes aren't as strong as those who remain connected. That’s why the cultural component is such a vital part of the work I do." 

As a student, Goodblanket participated in CSUSM’s inaugural “Beyond the Stereotype" campaign to raise awareness about cultural appropriation and the harm caused by stereotypes. Goodblanket and other students were featured on posters across campus that challenged common misconceptions about underrepresented groups. She emphasized the need to raise awareness about issues like missing and murdered Indigenous women and the harmful sexualization of Native women through stereotypes and costumes, which contribute to broader societal perceptions and injustice. 

"Maya demonstrates how education driven by purpose and cultural knowledge creates lasting change,” said Joely Proudfit, chair of the American Indian studies department and director of the CICSC. “CSUSM remains grateful for her transformative impact, particularly through her leadership in the award-winning 'Beyond the Stereotype' campaign, where she challenged cultural appropriation with authenticity and understanding.” 

Goodblanket didn’t expect the campaign to have such a large impact, and its widespread presence across campus was surprising but meaningful.  

"I think it was really important to take that stance and just stand up,” she said. “And I think that's what college is all about.” 

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Diagnosed with hepatitis C, very unusual for a child that young, Jaenisch had been told by doctors that if he didn’t get a liver transplant, he wouldn’t live past 30. That disturbing prediction had hung over his adolescence and early adulthood like a black cloud, casting a pall over every doctor’s appointment and health episode.  

Now here it was, 2016, the year when Jaenisch turned 30, and the doctor’s assessment was feeling eerily prescient. He had not been able to procure a new liver, and his condition was deteriorating rapidly. To borrow his gallows humor, he was as “yellow as a Simpsons character” because of jaundice. He collectively spent more than six weeks in the hospital as a result of various complications from end-stage liver disease.  

“Every single day that year, I had a 30 to 60 percent chance of dying,” Jaenisch said.  

That he didn’t die, that he received a liver transplant on Dec. 3 (only a few months before his 31^st birthday), Jaenisch considers to be nothing short of a miracle. Given the gift of fresh life in his fourth decade, he elected to devote it to ensuring that no one else has to go through the ordeal that he did. 

Three years later, Jaenisch returned to Cal State San Marcos – the university where he had earned a bachelor’s degree in social sciences in 2008 – to pursue a master’s in public health. He now works as the director of education and outreach for Open Biopharma Research and Training Institute, a Carlsbad nonprofit whose mission is to reduce the cost of pharmaceuticals like the ones that helped keep him alive while he waited for the miracle liver.  

More significantly, Jaenisch is a tireless patient advocate, dedicating countless hours to multiple organizations that share a goal of ending the scourge of hep C. He has transformed adversity into community impact, leveraging his CSUSM education to improve lives and strengthen public health across the state.  

“Richard is truly a special person,” said Carrie Frenette, the executive director of global medical affairs for Gilead Sciences and Jaenisch’s liver doctor for nine years starting in 2012.  

“I can’t think of anyone else who has so much expertise and understanding in their medical problems, advocates for themselves and then goes on to advocate for others. Honestly, it made it so easy to care for him, and it made it mean even more when he got his transplant and was healthy again.” 

'I don’t know how you are still alive...’ 

It all started with brown pee. 

Jaenisch was a normal suburban kid growing up in Rancho Bernardo. When he was 12, his parents signed him up for a summer tennis camp. It was a sweltering day and he didn’t drink a lot of water; when he returned home and went to the bathroom, his urine was dark.  

His father took him to Rady Children’s Hospital, where he was put through a battery of tests on his kidneys, spleen and liver. The diagnosis of hepatitis C virus (HCV) stunned them, as did the subsequent wallop of bad news: After the rest of the family was tested, it was discovered that he contracted the infection at birth from his mother, who also was found to have HCV.   

Nothing, though, could have prepared Jaenisch for the haunting prognostication of liver transplant or death.  

“That shook me to my core,” he said. “My childhood was fundamentally changed. And my mom heard that, too, because she was in the room. It’s awkward hearing your own future from your child’s diagnosis. We shared a very odd relationship in that way.” 

At the time, in the late 1990s, there was no cure for HCV, only experimental treatments with low success rates and punishing side effects. Jaenisch’s mom started the drugs – interferon and ribavirin – almost immediately, but as a child, Jaenisch wasn’t eligible. The primary impact of HCV on his teenage years was that he was forced to cease participation in all sports and PE classes (because the disease can be transmitted through blood) and he began to suffer from a type of brain fog named hepatic encephalopathy (HE).   

After graduating from Rancho Bernardo High School, he attended Palomar College for two years, then transferred to CSUSM. There, he threw himself into classes in economics, history and political science – not only to satiate his hunger for knowledge but also to distract himself from the fear that constantly lingered at the back of his mind.  

“I wanted to live as much of my life as I could before everything hit the fan,” Jaenisch said. “Because I knew what was coming. When someone gives you a death sentence, you remember it, to say the least.” 

Jaenisch graduated from CSUSM in December 2008. Only a few weeks later, the trouble started. He attempted to begin the same treatment program his mom had undergone, but because of denials by his mom's employer, he wasn’t able to do so for about nine months.  

Once the snags finally had been resolved, the 12-week regimen of interferon and ribavirin didn’t work. He experienced all the negative effects of the drugs – in his case, painful inflammation and wild emotional swings – without any decrease in his body’s viral load. A second round at double the dosage early in 2010 similarly yielded no response.  

By this point, more than a decade after his HCV first had been discovered, Jaenisch had descended to the most serious stage on the scale that measures liver fibrosis, or scarring. F0 equates to no fibrosis, F1 is mild, F2 is moderate, and so on. He was at F4, which indicates the presence of cirrhosis, a condition in which the liver is extensively scarred and permanently damaged.   

Jaenisch had reached the dreaded end-stage liver disease, which essentially meant that the ticking of his clock was only accelerating. All the while, he was encountering roadblocks in his career. He had hoped to enter the niche field of traffic economics, but graduating into the Great Recession scuttled that plan. For a time, he held a job in tech support that he found unfulfilling. 

The work that did bring Jaenisch joy was for a group that offered before- and after-school services for elementary and middle schools in the Poway district of his youth. He envisioned a long-term future in that field but was stymied by both the ailing economy (which led to layoffs) and his illness (he claims he was a victim of disability discrimination but chose to spend his remaining time trying to get better rather than pursue a case.)   

While he tried to piece together enough work to retain his vital health insurance, Jaenisch’s health continued to deteriorate. In 2014, two years into her stint as his liver doctor, Frenette proffered a grim evaluation. 

“She said, ‘I don’t know how you are still alive with this liver,’ ” Jaenisch recalled. “She showed me pictures and was like, ‘Your liver is an old shoe. It is not doing what it’s supposed to do. But you’re still functioning.’ ” 

Every moment of optimism, it seemed, was followed by a stroke of misfortune. He began taking a new drug called Sovaldi (a direct-acting antiviral, or DAA) that was considered a game-changer for HCV patients in that it had an 86% cure rate in six months. Sure enough, Jaenisch’s viral load was approaching zero and his liver was curing. But then he contracted a C. diff bacterial infection (the suspect: spoiled food from a restaurant), which caused acute liver failure and brought his HVC roaring back.  

He later tried another second-generation DAA – Harvoni – that sounded promising but failed in the last week of treatment. As his liver continued to deteriorate, in 2016 he became too sick for treatment and, following a now-common hospitalization, an ER physician gave him outdated medical advice, which resulted in a case of sepsis that nearly killed him. 

End-stage liver disease is typically a rapid descent lasting as little as two years. For Jaenisch, it was an eight-year slog, from age 22 to 30.  

“He was in and out of the hospital multiple times, and he nearly didn’t make it to transplant multiple times,” Frenette said. “I can’t imagine anyone going through it with the courage and strength that he did.” 

Even after the liver transplant, Jaenisch wasn’t out of the woods. The operation addressed the issue of the failing liver, but it didn’t eradicate the HCV (the virus lives in the bloodstream). Frenette advised a treatment plan of Sovaldi, Zepatier and ribavirin, and that pharmaceutical concoction proved to be a magical formula.  

In September 2017, 18 years after the fateful diagnosis, Jaenisch was cured. 

“Honestly, I cried,” Frenette said. “He had been through so much, and to finally get rid of this awful virus that he had lived with his entire life and had caused his liver to fail … I don’t have words.” 

‘I have to be more than a self-advocate' 

It was during one of his dozens of hospital stays that Jaenisch decided on the next course of his life, provided he would live long enough to choose.  

In the fall of 2014, he had been admitted to Sharp Memorial Hospital after the HCV returned via his C. diff infection. His medical team was struggling to lower his levels of bilirubin, a substance found in bile that was causing jaundice, the yellowing of the skin now so familiar to Jaenisch. He knew that ultraviolet rays help break down bilirubin, so he convinced the nurses to bring him outside for an hour a day at peak sun. As he had theorized, his bilirubin numbers declined. 

“It was at that point where I was like, ‘I have to be more than a self-advocate. If I can survive through transplant, I need to go to a Master of Public Health program,’ ” Jaenisch said. “I realized that that path would help me better understand how to become an advocate not only for myself but also for others.” 

His commitment would be nurtured in an environment like CSUSM, as he was accepted into its accelerated MPH program. His time back at the university overlapped with the pandemic, which he took advantage of by choosing as his thesis topic the emergency use authorization of COVID-19 tests.  

“He was very inquisitive and passionate,” said Asherlev Santos, an associate professor of public health and Jaenisch’s thesis adviser. “Sometimes that passion was more visible than the evidence of the inquiry, but all came from a place of helping others in some sort of need. He used his personal and professional experience to spur on what he did for his MPH degree.” 

His master’s allowed him to land his job at Open Biopharma, but it’s passion that mostly fuels Jaenisch in his advocacy connected to HCV. In 2016, while his body was still racked with the disease, he traveled to Sacramento with an organization known as CalHEP to talk to state legislators and raise awareness about viral hepatitis.  

The next year, when Congress was preparing to vote on a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Jaenisch enlisted in the fight. He told his story of overcoming HCV in half a dozen TV interviews, worked at a call center, wrote letters – he did so much that the American Liver Foundation named him its liver champion of the year.  

“I wanted to preserve the things that help people get access to health care,” he said. “Because to me, it saved my life.” 

He also has volunteered for state and local groups such as End the Epidemics, the California Department of Public Health and the Eliminate Hepatitis C San Diego County Initiative. Their shared objective (in line with a goal established by the World Health Organization) is to eliminate hep C by 2030, which means a reduction of new infections by 90% and deaths by 65%. 

And the barriers are much lower than they used to be. Jaenisch says his family spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on treatment and other expenses to keep him alive. Today, treatment could run as cheap as a few hundred dollars, and that’s for more effective drugs, too.  

“I was raised in a middle-class suburban household, and I wouldn’t have known I had hep C if I didn’t pee a brown color,” Jaenisch said. “I’ve always maintained that I think we’re missing a lot of people, and I keep trying to push for us to find them and knock this virus out. We’re taking a lot of steps, and eventually we’ll get there.” 

Thanks to Jaenisch’s focus on access and innovation, those steps are becoming strides – toward a healthier, more equitable future for all. 

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

The play, written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah DeLappe, is a coming-of-age tale that follows a high school girls soccer team as players navigate degrees of adolescence, identity and growing up. Performances of “The Wolves” will take place in Arts 111 from Nov. 12-15 at 7 p.m. Tickets for students cost $10, while general admission tickets are $15. 

Through their interactions, rivalries and moments of vulnerability, the girls grapple with the nuances of teenage girlhood and the unspoken bonds that form within the team.

Set entirely during pregame warmups, the performance captures the chaotic, overlapping conversations between players as they discuss everything from global politics to personal anxieties.

To perfect the soccer moves in these moments, the actresses are being coached by Emily Mahmoud, a senior midfielder on the CSUSM women's soccer team.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim assistant director of editorial and external affairs
ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

As a boy, his career aspiration was to be on a SWAT team. As a student at Cal State San Marcos, though his academic track early on was kinesiology, he gravitated to the theater and began auditioning for every high-pressure stage role possible. 

So when Collier was at a crossroads in his post-graduate life and his stepfather figure suggested that he explore firefighting, perhaps the most surprising aspect is that Collier had never thought of it himself. Who, after all, is more willing to charge headlong into a risky situation than a firefighter? 

“I’m the person who will stop their car on the side of a busy road to help somebody rather than driving on,” Collier said. “That’s just what I do. It’s what’s in me. So for me, this job is a hand-in-glove fit.” 

Collier was speaking from a common area inside San Diego Fire Station 43, which is in Otay Mesa and has been his home away from home for the past year. On this day in late April, he had donned his gear several times to go on calls in the station’s primary engine with his firehouse colleagues – a firefighter paramedic, an engineer and a captain.  

The calls were fairly routine. Because Station 43 is in a lightly developed neighborhood only a few miles north of the Mexico border, most of the emergencies that its crews respond to are vegetation fires, car fires and incidents at the border itself – often people sustaining injuries as they try to cross into California illegally.  

Collier, 29, is less than four years into his firefighting career, which translates into this current assignment far from the heart of San Diego. He has to gradually work his way up the ranks and into more plum stations.  

But Collier still loves where he is and what he’s doing. He gladly will show off for visitors every nook and cranny of Station 43 – from the exercise space where he gets to incorporate one of his favorite activities (weightlifting) into his work hours, to the kitchen where he frequently cooks meals for the whole house, to the cherry-red fire engine that he has come to know every inch of like the back of his hand.   

“Becoming a firefighter is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” he said. “It’s not an easy job. When the stuff hits the fan, it sprays everywhere. But it’s also one of the most rewarding things you can do.” 

It was at CSUSM that Collier discovered the stability and self-confidence that made life as a firefighter seem realistic. He grew up in the foster system and entered the university having attended an astounding 17 different schools before he even reached high school, Olympian in Chula Vista. He arrived at CSUSM with the assistance of ACE Scholars Services, the university’s program for former foster youth. 

Collier switched his major from kinesiology to visual performing arts and threw himself into theater with abandon, ultimately starring in seven shows during his five years as a student.  

“What CSUSM gave me is the belief that I can do anything,” said Collier, who graduated in 2018. “I came into college with extreme educational deficiencies. Yet CSUSM had every tool to catch me up and help me succeed. It gave me the environment to grow.” 

Collier intended to pursue a Master of Fine Arts and a doctorate en route to becoming a theater professor, but he admits that he didn’t prepare well enough for his graduate school auditions and was delivered a harsh “reality check.” He was teaching kids at Callan Swim School when his stepdad proposed what turned out to be a fateful visit to the Heartland Fire & Rescue station in El Cajon. He was a reserve firefighter there for a year before entering the San Diego Fire Academy in 2022. 

Now Collier aims to keep climbing the ladder – both literally and figuratively – as a firefighter while not pulling it up behind him. As soon as he joined the fire service, he got involved with community outreach as part of the team tasked with recruiting the next generation of firefighters. And his next goal is to take classes toward becoming an instructor of young firefighters eager to enter the fire service.  

“I feel like that’s my next calling,” he said. “I’m trying to figure out how to give back by motivating and helping others. It gives me joy to see people be uplifted and accomplish things.”  

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

Her degree (communication) was unrelated to health care, and Gonzalez had no intention of staying in the field. The main appeal of the job was that it was close to her home and the university.  

Beginning her journey as a program assistant in an entry-level role, Gonzalez quickly developed a fondness for the local nonprofit and its high-minded mission: providing quality health care and wellness services to underserved communities, regardless of income or insurance status. Her early connection to community health mirrored CSUSM’s commitment to accelerating social mobility through leaders who serve with purpose. 

What Gonzalez imagined to be a brief pit stop instead turned into a rewarding career, and over two decades, she climbed the rungs all the way to the top – she was appointed president and CEO in 2020, the same year that North County Health Services was reborn as TrueCare.  

With Gonzalez at the helm, TrueCare has expanded into a regional force with 21 health centers and five women, infants and children (WIC) locations, covering a footprint of more than 42 miles, from Encinitas to Ramona. Her leadership has driven key advancements, including the opening of new health centers, expansion of the mobile fleet and specialty services, implementation of an advanced electronic health record system, rebrand of the organization, and launch of a successful doula program supported by a $2 million federal grant.  

Question: This year marks the five-year anniversary of you becoming the leader of TrueCare. What does that milestone mean to you? 

Michelle Gonzalez: I think it's a reminder of how quickly time flies and how quickly things can change and evolve. It's hard to remember that we were in this worldwide pandemic. It feels like it's been a couple lifetimes. We've had a lot of growth for the organization, and I think at this five-year mark, it just underscores how resilient we are, how much people matter at the core of everything we do – whether it's providers, whether it's patients, whether it's the community, our staff. It's a culmination of the strength of the organization and everything that we've accomplished, which is a lot in the last five years. 

Q: How would you sum up the growth and changes that have occurred since 2020? 

MG: We've expanded our footprint. We've opened new sites, we've added new service lines, we've added acupuncture, we've added podiatry. We've really stabilized our workforce during a time of a lot of shortages and uncertainty. I’m proud of the fact that our provider retention rate is over 90%. We continue to hire at an accelerated pace, and I start there because everything we do, all the growth and all the accomplishments, it always starts with people. Without a solid workforce, we wouldn't be able to achieve anything.  

Our patient population has grown significantly as well. We had a slight decrease post-COVID, but we're back up to almost 70,000 patients. We've rendered more than 350,000 visits in this last year. Our workforce continues to grow. We're over 800 employees now and close to 160 providers. And then our budget has grown significantly, by almost $55 million in the last five years. We've tripled our mobile fleet. In all the areas of the business that you would expect to continue to progress, we're not only progressing, but we're thriving. 

Q: How did your appointment as CEO come about? 

MG: My predecessor went on a leave of absence in January 2020. The board asked me if I would be willing to step in on an interim basis. They were initially planning to do a national search, which I was fully supportive of. I didn't have any aspirations to be a CEO. I sometimes say I'm an accidental CEO. I was working in that interim capacity for several months, and then COVID made its presence known and we had the stay-at-home order. By April, the board had unanimously appointed me to maintain the position full term. After a lot of conversation and some prayer and reflection, I decided to pursue the position, and it's been a fantastic journey, in large part because I have such a great team around me.  

Q: What was the biggest challenge in taking over just as the pandemic was heating up? 

MG: There was so much uncertainty and fear. At one point, we had to close more than half of our clinics, probably 75-80% of our sites, we had to furlough staff. You think you can sort of ease in to becoming a CEO. There was no ease-in period. I remember talking with colleagues in the industry and saying, “How are you handling this? What are you doing?” And I realized very quickly that there's no playbook and everybody was truly figuring it out as they went along. Very early on, I made a conscious decision that I would be the type of leader who was always grounded and surrounded by strong advisers. We offer health care, but I'm not a clinician, so I made certain that we had strong clinical leadership on our team. It was about trying to understand what was unfolding in the world around us and how TrueCare plays an important part and ensuring that we were keeping our workforce intact. We’re back on track now, but it was an incredibly stressful time.  

Q: How did TrueCare pivot during that time and how does the organization look different now than it did in 2020?  

MG: Before the pandemic started, we had pieces of a telehealth or virtual health program. We realized very quickly that it would be crucial to continue to offer services to patients. For many patients, we are their lifeline, and cutting off their health care was not an option. So we were able to stand up a virtual health program in three days. It started off with telehealth visits and as soon as we were able to, we migrated to a video visit platform. We essentially worked around the clock to make sure that we didn't cut off access for patients, but it also gave employees a sense of purpose. And we've continued to build on that virtual health program while staying true to the traditional methods that you would expect to render medicine.  

We also had to pivot when it came to figuring out what our workforce was going to look like. We had to put people on furlough, but we made sure they still got a salary. We really believed that we needed to take care of our people, and a lot of funding from the federal government helped to shore us up. We laid off less than 15 individuals, and we were able to provide them with a severance so that they landed on their feet. I’m proud of that.  

Q: How would you characterize the change in you that turned TrueCare from a short-term job to more of a calling? 

MG: What I found was that people who worked here were very connected to the mission. They weren't here for the money. They were here because they cared about the people and patients that we were serving. The more I learned about the organization, the more in love I became with it and the more I realized, “My gosh, we have to make sure more individuals in the community and more community-based organizations know about what we do because there are so many people in need.”  

There was a misconception about people who were accessing care at community health centers, that they deserved less or they were just poor. I discovered that these are individuals who work very hard and who don't understand the importance of preventative care, and a lot of times don't feel like they're worthy of having access to care. What became a cornerstone of the work I did early on, and has carried on throughout my time here, is making sure everybody understands that access to health care is a right, not a privilege, and we don't care about your walk of life, where you come from or your circumstance. We want to make sure we help everyone who walks through our doors to the very best of our ability.  

Q: Tell me about your background. 

MG: I was born in Virginia, which is where my father is from. My mother is from Guam, and my parents met there while my dad was in the military. I'm half-Chamorro and half-white, and my husband is Mexican. We were childhood sweethearts who met when I was 12 and he was 14. I've had a lot of exposure to his family and culture over the years, and I think that's something that has benefited me very well. Though I'm not Mexican, I'm not Latina, I have such an appreciation for the culture and the people who we serve, which is the predominant background of our patients. 

My family traveled a lot while my dad was in the service. We moved to Vista when I was in third grade, and I've lived in North County pretty much my whole life. I'm also the youngest of seven children and the first in my family to go to college. So I'm a first-generation college graduate.  

Q: Did your parents not encourage college among your siblings? 

MG: We came from very humble beginnings, and I don't think we always understood that college was something within reach. My parents did the best they could to work and provide for us, but it was really the mindset of, you go to school and you get a good job. But my mom would say to me, “You're too smart, Michelle. You need to think about college.” I told her we couldn’t afford college, but she said we'll figure it out, we'll find a way. For most of the time that I was a student, I worked two jobs to put myself through school. I was also an AmeriCorps member, so I was able to receive a grant. But none of it came easy and none of it was without sacrifice or hard work – not just for me, but those around me who supported me. 

Q: What I'm hearing is a story of social mobility.  

MG: Oh, one thousand percent. I think that's why Cal State San Marcos and TrueCare are such great partners. We see health care as a right, not a privilege, and we think it's fundamental and foundational to everything. I think it ties in beautifully with social mobility. And there's so much good that is happening at Cal State San Marcos. There's a lot that we do together, and social mobility is a big part of that.  

Q: One of the main areas in which TrueCare and CSUSM have partnered in recent years is mobile health clinics. How did that come about? 

MG: Once I became CEO and started serving on the University Council, I learned about CSUSM’s interest in having a mobile health unit. I connected with (nursing lecturer) Matt Mincey early on and said, “You don't have to go on this journey alone. We have mobile clinics. We're right here, let's partner, let's figure out how to do this together.” What started out small has expanded into working not just with the mobile team, but also with the School of Nursing, public health, the entire College of Education, Health and Human Services. It’s a great opportunity to give exposure to students and help them understand that health care doesn't just come in a traditional hospital setting, that there's this whole other life of community health. There's a ton of overlap where our interests align nicely with what CSUSM is doing. We go to the same community events, and CSUSM students are able to do outreach, blood pressure screenings, things of that nature. Then, as they move farther along in their studies, when appropriate, they're also able to do internships at TrueCare. 

Q: How would you summarize TrueCare’s model in terms of providing health care?  

MG: One of the things I want to emphasize is that TrueCare will not refuse services to anyone regardless of their ability to pay. What we're focused on is the individual and the family who presents and what services you need, and how we can either provide those directly or connect you with somebody who offers them. At TrueCare, we provide high-quality, compassionate care. Like we always say, “Health inside, welcome in!” 

Q: That seems like such a valuable service in the community – health care you don't have to pay for. 

MG: In today's day and age, it sounds like something very novel. Does that really exist? And the reality is that it does. When you believe in your core that health care is a right and not a privilege, you fight to make that a reality. And that's what we're doing. We're growing in all possible ways and we're maximizing wherever we can, in terms of the revenue we're able to generate. We take that and we pour it right back into the organization so that we can continue to expand our footprint. We put a lot of emphasis on making sure we can get people enrolled in coverage because we know that if you have coverage, that's a reduced barrier and you're more likely to access health care. But that's not the only barrier you will have to face and figure out. We also spend a lot of time and resources and energy in cultivating a fantastic culture internally. We believe that people who are joyful at work are more likely to do a better job and will pour that energy back into our patients and community. We make it a priority to care for our workforce, to really give them opportunities to advance, to grow and level up. What we find more and more often is that our patients are a direct reflection of our staff, and our staff is a direct reflection of our patients. Pouring into one is pouring into the other, and we're proud of that because health care is daunting – not just for the patient in terms of navigating, but it's also really hard work. One of our VPs many years ago said, “Michelle, we do noble work.” And I was like, “Yeah, this is noble work.” That's exactly what we do.  

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

“Become an Arts Teacher Day” will take place on Saturday, Nov. 8 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Arts Building on campus. The free event will bring together students and community members to participate in arts activities and listen to guest educators speak about arts teaching. They also will learn more about the steps needed to apply to the multiple subject credential program.

The workshop is part of the Arts Credential Pathway Project, a collaboration among CSUSM’s School of Arts, School of Education and Center ARTES. Founded in 2023, the project was developed to address the shortage of visual and performing arts teachers in California, and to provide an arts credential pathway at CSUSM that can be duplicated on other campuses. CSUSM professors in music; dance; art, media and design; and education have worked for multiple years to build and implement arts credential opportunities for CSUSM students.

Students wanting to pursue this pathway though CSUSM can apply to the School of Education’s multiple subject credential program. Once accepted, students who want to teach in the arts can apply to the CREATE Teacher Residency Program. The program supplies a stipend and financial support, hands-on experience, arts mentorship, a consistent cohort of peers, professional development and networking, priority job interviews, and more.

To learn more, students can contact their art discipline’s Arts Credential Pathway Project representative or visit the teaching credential program website.

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist
bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

It was the continuation of a two-decade career turn toward venturing to – both physically and emotionally – some of the coldest, most remote places on Earth and exploring the fascinating ways that art and science intersect.

Hersko, a longtime Cal State San Marcos professor who’s chair of the art, media and design (AMD) department, is back on campus this semester as she digests the discoveries she made on her summer sojourn to Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole. How far-flung is it? After traveling the 5,400 miles from San Diego to Oslo, you’re still about 1,300 miles from your destination.

In Svalbard, Hersko boarded a sailing ship called the Rembrandt van Rijn (named for the famous Dutch painter) that was chartered by The Arctic Circle, an annual expeditionary residency program for artists and scientists from around the world. With 29 other people – a mix of visual artists, writers, composers and science communicators – Hersko sailed down the west coast of Svalbard before the ship left the land behind and pointed northwest into the thick ice of the Arctic Ocean.

“That was really exciting because it was a real North Pole feeling,” Hersko said. “The captain discovered this really large chunk of ice that was 20 kilometers. We moored to it, and it was sort of like mooring to land, except it moved.”

During her time at sea and on the ice, Hersko gathered material that she will use for her unique brand of artwork that she calls performance lectures. These are tightly timed presentations of narratives grounded in historical and scientific research that are accompanied by visual images, including the artworks that she creates – her specialties are sculpture and installation that also incorporate photography and collage.

“I build complex narratives that are basically true to life, except that I weave in a fictitious character who helps hold the story together,” she said.

It’s an approach to art that was born of Hersko’s early years at CSUSM, and a life-changing trip to the globe’s opposite pole. In 2003, when she was hired at CSUSM, she sent a letter to colleagues on the science faculty telling them that she was interested in collaborating on projects. One of the most enthusiastic responses came from Victoria Fabry, a biological sciences professor whose scholarly work explored the effects of ocean acidification.

Hersko and Fabry teamed up on an exhibit titled “Shifting Baselines” that translated the scientist’s research into visual art (it proved so impactful that it has been exhibited multiple times nationally, most recently last year in the San Diego Central Library). In 2006, Fabry went on a scientific trip to Antarctica and she came back raving about it, urging Hersko to apply for a program that brought artists there.

Hersko did just that two years later. On a completely funded expedition as part of the extremely competitive National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists and Writers grant program, she spent six weeks in Antarctica, where she watched penguins hatching at her feet, studied planktonic snails and assembled the research material that guided her work for many years, exhibitions, presentations and book chapters to come.

Specifically, she crafted narratives that centered around a fictitious, unknown female explorer, Anna Schwartz, who travels to Antarctica disguised as a man on the 1939 expedition led by American naval officer Richard E. Byrd.

Though her protagonist is invented, Hersko said, “my work builds on meticulous research, and I place her in real historical events. These layered stories present the complex history of science highlighting the absence of women from the narratives of exploration as well as science.”

Hersko isn’t the only School of Arts faculty member who has been to the frigid poles on a research excursion. In 2023, AMD professor Lucy HG Solomon received a prestigious Fulbright scholarship and did part of her research on Svalbard, where she furthered her ongoing studies of microorganisms and how they connect to the world.

Solomon’s experience in the Arctic, in turn, led to a rare opportunity for one of her students. Last year, she connected AMD student Leobardo Moreno Villanueva with an ecologist at a Svalbard university, and Villanueva worked with the scientist on a graphic design project in which he helped make technical signage describing the scientific equipment used for research in the Arctic.

Villanueva, a former foster youth from Mexico for whom English is his third language, graduated from CSUSM last spring.

“Designing for the far north was an unforgettable challenge that expanded my perspective on how art and science meet in unexpected places," Villanueva said.

As for Hersko, she knows several people in the small circle of polar researchers who have traveled with The Arctic Circle program, but she could never find the right time until this year. On July 4, she landed in Longyearbyen, a small town known for coal mining (though the last mine closed a few days before her arrival) and its views of the Northern Lights. After a few days to acclimate, she boarded the Rembrandt van Rijn to begin the two-week voyage.

Among the highlights of her time at sea was up-close viewings of two polar bears, the tragic sight (and thunderous sound) of ice falling from stunning glaciers, and the discovery of tiny flowers and lichens that she thinks she will incorporate into her next output of art that results from this latest trip of a lifetime.

“When I get fascinated by something, often it turns out that things come together in a weird, magical way where it has relevance,” Hersko said. “It’s all still percolating, and I think it’s probably a story that I will develop in the next year.”

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

Pack’s path to CSUSM wasn’t straightforward. After beginning his higher-education journey at the U.S. Air Force Academy and transferring to another university, he eventually found his home at San Marcos, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1997. He often credited a CSUSM economics professor with transforming his academic trajectory and helping set the foundation for his career. 

Professionally, Pack rose to become co-CEO of Fortress Investment Group, one of the world’s leading investment firms. Over more than two decades, he built a reputation as a leader in credit and real estate investing, overseeing billions of dollars in assets and guiding teams through complex financial markets. 

Pack’s connection to CSUSM remained strong long after graduation. He gave his time and expertise as a member of the CSUSM Foundation Board from 2011-16, including service on the Fundraising Committee, where his vision helped strengthen the university’s philanthropic efforts. He also supported the Finance Society by offering real-world insights to students preparing for their own careers. 

Pack’s passion for serving veterans was rooted in his upbringing as the son of Lt. Col. A.J. Pack, a U.S. Marine Corps officer who served for 22 years. Like Josh, Lt. Col. Pack served as a director of the CSUSM Foundation Board (2015-21). In his father’s honor, Josh established the Lt. Col. A.J. Pack Veterans Scholarship at CSUSM, supporting military-affiliated students in pursuing their educational and career goals. 

He also championed the creation of a veterans and military center on campus, which broke ground in 2013, calling the work “enormously gratifying for me and my family.” In 2014, he partnered with the Veterans Center and Associated Students, Inc., to host the campus premiere of “The Hornet’s Nest,” a documentary about American troops in Afghanistan. The event included a post-screening Q&A with military units and filmmakers, underscoring his belief in the importance of recognizing and supporting student veterans. 

In 2021, Pack reflected on his connection to CSUSM in an article on the Fortress website, noting how meaningful it was to help create a leading center for veterans and active-duty service members at the university. 

“The CSUSM veterans community has earned not just our thanks, but our commitment to support their dreams,” he said. 

Pack will be remembered for the generosity he showed to his alma mater and to the veteran community that meant so much to him. Through the Lt. Col. A.J. Pack Veterans Scholarship, his support of campus programs and his advocacy for military-connected students, he built a legacy of service that will continue to impact lives for years to come. 

Pack is survived by his wife and their four children. 

“Josh was a true partner in our mission of student success,” CSUSM President Ellen Neufeldt said. “He had an unwavering belief in the power of education, and he never forgot where he came from. His impact on our students, and especially our student veterans, will endure for generations, and we will carry forward his spirit of service with gratitude.” 

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

The documentary was released the following year. Now, 20 years later, Berman is marking the anniversary of the film with a new digital restoration and a national tour of screenings and interviews.

“Commune” is about an intentional community called Black Bear Ranch formed in 1968 in remote Siskiyou County just south of the Oregon border. A dozen people were expected to live there, but the number eventually swelled to 100 in what was a utopian experiment that attracted anarchists, hippies and activists seeking to get away from America and create something new. The documentary includes prominent actor Peter Coyote, who once lived at Black Bear.

At the time of its release, “Commune” received positive reviews from such outlets as the New York Times, Variety, the Village Voice and the San Francisco Chronicle. It boasts a rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Berman says he decided to restore the film so that it would be suitable to appear on streaming services and that he chose to embark on a nationwide tour to give fans “the communal experience of theatrical.” The tour began in May in upstate New York and will end this month back in New York. In September, it made four stops in California, including Los Angeles and the Bay Area town of San Rafael, where some former Black Bear denizens reside.

“Twenty years later, it is a warm feeling to reunite with those folks,” Berman said. “They have almost all gone on to do work that helps people; some of this can be gleaned in the film. It was almost like reuniting with relatives after a long time. I felt a little guilty for not really being in touch more, but then happy to see them again.”

In addition to the 16 theaters that have screened “Commune,” Berman has been interviewed on nearly 20 podcasts. He’s hoping to add a few more showings in Southern California, including at least one in the San Diego area.

After making “Commune,” Berman focused on teaching and consulting on other films before the release in 2018 of “Calling All Earthlings,” which examines California’s UFO counterculture cult and the Integratron, a mysterious structure in the desert north of Joshua Tree National Park. He’s now working on the third documentary in what he calls his California trilogy; titled “Gondola,” it’s about the controversial plan to build an aerial tram from Union Station to Dodger Stadium in L.A.

Berman says his film work over the years has benefited greatly from the contributions of CSUSM students and fellow faculty members, from serving internships to watching and giving feedback on test edits.

“That’s part of our mission as a university, for students to work intimately with teachers who are active in their field,” he said.

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

The play follows two men leading double lives under the alias “Ernest,” hoping to escape societal responsibility and captivate women. However, their lies only entangle them further as the women they attract begin to believe they are engaged to the same man.

One of Wilde’s most famous works, the play directed by Em Schweim, president of the theatre club, takes a comedic tone and uses witty dialogue to humorously critique the British upper class.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim assistant director of editorial and external affairs
ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Martinez Mendez contended with social anxiety herself as a teen, and she was eager to ensure that her younger siblings knew there were resources and support systems to help if they faced similar challenges.

“I was like their second mother, especially with my sister,” Martinez Mendez said. “It made me think, ‘How can I implement and help with mental health and related issues?’ Because growing up, I never really had the support system.”

Martinez Mendez arrived at Cal State San Marcos initially planning to major in psychology and work toward becoming a clinical psychologist or family therapist. But working at Student Health & Counseling Services (SHCS) inspired her to pursue a slightly different path.

Martinez Mendez spent two years during her undergraduate studies working in CSUSM’s HOPE & Wellness Center as a peer educator. The experience was life-changing, inspiring Martinez Mendez to pursue a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree at CSUSM after she graduated last May as a double major in child and adolescent development and Spanish.

“I realized that I love doing more community outreach than working one on one,” she said.

The HOPE & Wellness Center is among several groups on campus devoted to providing mental health services for CSUSM students. Last year, the university received a $250,000 grant from the Conrad Prebys Foundation to advance those services, part of a larger $6 million investment by the Prebys Foundation in grants to 23 local organizations. 

The Prebys Foundation’s funding helped CSUSM launch a mental health intervention program called the Community of Care that brings together the Cougar Care Network, SHCS and the Crisis Response Team. The grant also served as a catalyst for additional philanthropic support, including funding from the San Diego Foundation’s mental health program for MSW interns and a matching contribution from the Epstein Family Foundation.

 The Community of Care’s efforts to decrease mental health challenges and crises for students include the following strategies: 

• Providing counseling through SHCS for students seeking mental health support. 
• Providing basic needs resources and expanding mental health referral support through Cougar Care Network and its mobile Care Cart. 
• Providing response to time-sensitive mental health crises on campus. 

Martinez Mendez is part of those efforts as a MSW graduate assistant this year for the HOPE & Wellness Center. She works closely with Cathy Nguyen, the coordinator of health promotion and a senior health educator, and Rosa Hunt, a health educator.

Martinez Mendez became more interested in social work through her undergraduate work with psychology professor Aleksandria Grabow. It was Grabow who taught her about the many different areas that social work touches. A self-described introvert, Martinez Mendez also credits psychology professor Kimberly Vanderbilt for helping her grow and become more comfortable working with families.

As a MSW student, Martinez Mendez attends classes two days a week while working 20 hours a week at schools in San Marcos Unified School District to earn her pupil personnel services credential, which authorizes individuals to work as school counselors, school psychologists or school social workers.

It’s all part of her goal of becoming a school social worker or therapist to continue advocating for mental health for school-aged children.

Visit the Student Health & Counseling Services website to learn about free mental health first aid trainings. SHCS will host the “Suicide Awareness Walk and Candlelight Vigil”  on Sept. 25 at 5 p.m. Learn more about other upcoming events to support mental health on the SHCS events calendar.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

“Through the partnership with CHABSS, Hidden City Film Festival has provided students with the opportunity to share their work on a large scale to the greater North County community, gain professional experience and make valuable connections within the art and film communities in San Diego County,” said Leslie Foster, a CSUSM art, media and design faculty member who has been involved in the planning of HCFF.

“We're so grateful for the work of art, media and design alumnus Kelly Dexter, who played a significant role in forging this relationship; and we are excited to see the festival feature work by several students and former students. We're also delighted that alumni like Joshua Kim, who now works at the Institute of Contemporary Art, San Diego, were able to serve as members of the film festival's jury. We look forward to growing this relationship, especially in connection with the annual Festival of Arts, hosted by the university's art, media and design department each May.” 

Through volunteer opportunities and festival events, students can connect with industry professionals to expand the opportunities already provided on campus. HCFF runs Sept. 26-28 at the Regal Cinema in Escondido, where CSUSM alumni Kate Clark, Adriana Carmen Alfaro and Paul Bacaj and current student Amara Abaquin-Brown will be screening their films. The festival's mission is to unite the community through the power of film by giving both local and global filmmakers the chance to highlight their creative talent.

“We have a great selection of films to kick off the inaugural year, including lots of local and international selections,” said Nicole Mendez, department coordinator and filmmaker, who is serving on the jury for the festival. 

Carmen Alfaro said her intention in directing her film “Behind the Scenes” was “to tell the kinds of stories that often go untold; the real, everyday experiences of people whose voices aren’t always heard.”

The festival will include curated short film showcases, feature film spotlights and live Q&As as well as a closing awards ceremony.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim assistant director of editorial and external affairs
ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

The concert will be held Oct. 23 at noon in Arts 111. Cheng will perform with cellist Paul Tseng, music director of the San Diego Music Society. The performance unites two internationally acclaimed musicians and will feature pieces from Mendelssohn and Schumann.

“These are the two representative romantic composers,” Cheng said. “I would like to point out that, especially in the Mendelssohn piece, even though it's called ‘Cello Sonata,’ the piano part has maybe 50 times more notes than the cello. It's very lively and fun yet challenging.”

Cheng joined CSUSM as an assistant professor of music in 2011; she is now the chair of the music department. Her work at CSUSM has helped her achieve the Top Music Teacher Award from Steinway & Sons every year since 2016. In 2021, she received the CSUSM President’s Outstanding Faculty Award in Service and Leadership. In 2023, Cheng was inducted into the Steinway & Sons Teacher Hall of Fame.

The concert is a preview of Cheng’s upcoming concert at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, on Nov. 2 at 4 p.m.

“It’s a chamber concert with piano, cello and harp. The theme of the concert is ‘284 Strings,’ the total number of strings of the three instruments combined,” Cheng said.

The full list of Cheng’s performances includes:

• Oct. 9, 1 p.m., Palomar College, Howard Brubeck Theatre
• Oct. 23, noon, Cal State San Marcos, Arts 111
• Oct. 28, 2 p.m., Grossmont College, Performing and Visual Arts Center
• Nov. 2, 4 p.m., California Center for the Arts, Escondido
• Nov. 9, 2 p.m., Point Loma Community Center

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim assistant director of editorial and external affairs
ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

It was just part of her normal daily life.

“I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis before I was even born,” Ferguson said.

Also known as CF, cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that affects the body's mucus-producing glands, causing damage to the lungs, digestive system and other organs.

Ferguson still takes medication and has treatments, but medical advances allow her to live a relatively normal life as a college student in her second year at Cal State San Marcos.

In fact, Ferguson is doing so well that she is among the candidates for the AbbVie CF Scholarship, which honors students who are thriving with cystic fibrosis. Public voting accounts for about 30% of the evaluation. Supporters can vote for Ferguson online or by texting "VOTE23" to 35309 through Sept. 18. Winners will be announced Oct. 23. Other evaluation factors are based on academic record and extracurricular activities, an essay and a creative presentation.

Ferguson received a $3,000 AbbVie scholarship last year and is hoping this year to win the top award, a $22,000 “Thriving Student Scholarship.”

“AbbVie is a pharmaceutical company, and I have taken their meds in the past, so it was just sort of a household name for me,” Ferguson said. “To have a scholarship like that and be involved with a company like that is really nice.”

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the predicted survival age for people with cystic fibrosis was about 28 years old. Ferguson represents a new generation of young adults with CF who, thanks to medical advances, are living significantly longer. Life expectancy has improved to about 68, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Ferguson has seen the improvements firsthand. The more than four dozen daily pills she took as a child is down to 20. She said CF primarily affects her lungs and digestive system, and she also has a mild case of diabetes related to it. In addition to the medication, she does an hour of daily treatment and closely watches her diet.

“I don’t even drink caffeine,” she said. “I can’t miss out on my health because it’ll plummet really fast.”

Ferguson has found a supportive environment at CSUSM. Disability Student Services ensured that she received a single room in campus housing, which was vital because of the daily treatment she requires. A literature and writing studies major, Ferguson was thrilled to land an on-campus job in Kellogg Library during her first year and she also started writing this fall for CSUSM’s student newspaper, “The Cougar Chronicle.”

“I’ve learned to manage things and understand what I can and can’t do,” Ferguson said. “And I haven’t really had a problem in a long time because of all my treatments and medications.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

“I’m really impressed with high student participation in my classes,” said O’Dell, who is particularly moved by the contributions of her global governance class, which is essentially an introduction to international relations.

“I’m really excited that the students are so interested in the subject matter. We’ve also already had some really good conversations about current events that are happening in my environmental politics class, which is called Green Planet Politics.”

O’Dell is one of four newly hired tenure-track faculty in the College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences.

She is spending this week at the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom at the Human Development and Capability Association Conference, where she will present her research on how humans can agree on sustainable use and management of Earth’s resources. O’Dell is also a board member (director at large) for the organization.

O’Dell comes to CSUSM from Seton Hill University, a Catholic liberal arts university in Greensburg, Pa. There, she was program coordinator (essentially the chair) of the political science and global studies program, led the Model United Nations program and was the adviser for the Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society chapter.

In addition to the larger student population here, another adjustment she has enjoyed is the change in lifestyle. Along with her husband and dog, O’Dell already has basked in beach days and local hikes, including traversing Torrey Pines recently.

“There are a lot of wonderful things about where I’ve lived before, but there’s nothing like being able to go for a walk by the ocean so easily, or be on the beach or even do some of the hikes around here and enjoy the beautiful views,” said O’Dell, who grew up in Montana and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington, a master’s from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and a Ph.D. from the University of Denver.

O’Dell is not unlike many CSUSM students. She was the first in her family to graduate from college, beginning that journey at the community college level.

Social mobility was a crucial part of her path, so she’s excited to help guide students here by utilizing the same tools of hard work and a caring support system.

“I know that CSUSM has that amazing opportunity for students, and so many people who come here are the first people in their family who have gone to a college or are thinking about a university degree or thinking about expanding what they want to do with their lives,” she said. “That was one of the things that definitely drew me.”

O’Dell wants to support students to learn and practice how to protect the environment. Essentially, how to make sure humans can thrive while also utilizing our resources sustainably.

Putting the theoretical into practice.

“There are so many ways CSUSM focuses on sustainability, on the concern for the environment,” she said. “That’s deeply connected to my study of public policy, my study of international relations – my academic interests and research interests, but also practical interests. So that’s really exciting.”

Hyunjin Koo

Hyunjin Koo is an assistant professor in the department of psychological science. She earned a Ph.D. in social psychology from UC Irvine and worked as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of British Columbia before joining CSUSM.

As a social psychologist, Koo has two main research programs. First, her work examines how experiences and beliefs about socioeconomic mobility shape everyday thoughts and behaviors, including attitudes toward work and leisure, views of the rich and poor, perceptions of inequality, morality, and social class. Second, in an emerging line of research, she studies a novel psychological construct that she and her team have introduced – leisure guilt — which refers to the guilt people feel when taking leisure time instead of being productive. Her research explores the antecedents and consequences of leisure guilt, as well as the cultural and social factors that influence it.

What drew you to CSUSM?

Koo: I was drawn to CSUSM for its strong commitment to student success and social mobility. My main research interest is social mobility, so I was excited to find that my work aligns perfectly with the university’s mission and goals.

 

What are you hoping your students will take away from your classes?

Koo: I hope that through my classes, students come to see how psychology connects to many aspects of their daily lives and experiences, and that they discover the joy of engaging with psychological topics. 

What is one of your professional goals you hope to accomplish while you’re here?

Koo: I want to embody the teacher–scholar model. My goal is to be both a strong researcher and a dedicated teacher who helps students achieve their own success.
 

What is your favorite activity during your downtime?

Koo: In my free time, I enjoy exploring new coffee shops and restaurants and finding new favorites. I’m especially excited that San Diego has so many places to discover!

Kiana Maillet

Kiana Maillet is an assistant professor in the American Indian studies department and is a member of the Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Tribe.

She is a double CSUSM alumna and a licensed clinical social worker with multiple certifications, and she has extensive volunteer and job experience working with youth, families and communities.

Her research interests include American Indian experiences within systems such as foster care, schools and mental health, as well as traditional teachings and experiences with language, foods, plants, places and ceremony.

What drew you to CSUSM?  

Maillet: I went through the Master of Social Work and the joint doctoral programs at CSUSM and have been a lecturer here for several years in the AIS department. 

What are you hoping your students will take away from your classes?  

Maillet: I hope that students will learn about the beauty and complexity of Native ways of being – our side of history, science, mental health, ecology, language, the real impacts of colonization and the strength and resilience of our people.

What is one of your professional goals you hope to accomplish while you’re here?  

Maillet: I hope to not only share my knowledge, but also to continue to grow and learn myself. I want to be able to make a positive impact on our students, our campus and in our communities.

What is your favorite activity during your down time?

Maillet: I enjoy hiking, gardening, playing with my grandsons and attending our Nüümü Yadoha (Paiute language) classes.

Carlos Rosas

Carlos Rosas is a new assistant professor in the psychological science department. He’s also no stranger to campus.

Rosas earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from CSUSM and a Ph.D. in psychology with a concentration in community and prevention research from the University of Illinois Chicago. Rosas completed epidemiology-focused postdoctoral fellowships at UC San Diego and San Diego State.

For the past two years, he also has taught various classes as a lecturer at CSUSM. His research program integrates social and health psychology theories, epidemiological methods, and community-based participatory research approaches to examine the social, cultural and psychological drivers/determinants of mental and physical health (particularly in the context of chronic disease prevention and management), and to develop, implement and evaluate culturally informed and tailored, community-based interventions to promote healthy behaviors and mitigate risk factors.

His research places special emphasis on communities of color and other historically understudied populations. Rosas regularly teaches multicultural perspectives in psychology, social psychology and statistics in psychology. 

What drew you to CSUSM?

Rosas: CSUSM is my alma mater. As an undergraduate, I found CSUSM to be an incredibly supportive and intellectually nurturing academic home. The encouragement and guidance I received from the psychology faculty were quite literally life-changing. I would not have pursued a doctoral degree without their unwavering support and mentorship. Hence, returning to CSUSM was the natural choice for me, and I'm really excited for the opportunity to provide my own students with the same support, motivation and inspiration that I once received from my own professors.  

What are you hoping your students will take away from your classes?

Rosas: I want my students to leave my classes inspired. In particular, I hope students from low-income and historically underrepresented backgrounds see that it is possible for people like us – the first in our families to attend college, from working-class families, etc. – to move up the socioeconomic ladder and pursue careers that often seem inaccessible. I also want to instill in my students a passion for psychology and psychological research. I still remember walking out of my first social psychology class in awe of the studies we had learned about, and I hope my students leave my classes with that same sense of wonder and curiosity. 

What is one of your professional goals you hope to accomplish while you’re here?

Rosas: I'm looking forward to establishing partnerships with local community organizations and clinics to collaborate on research projects that improve the health and well-being of underserved communities. 

What is your favorite activity during your down time?

Rosas: I enjoy working out, primarily lifting weights, though I also like to add a cardio session from time to time. 

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

First-year and transfer students got a head start on the semester last Saturday during New Student and Family Convocation, an annual event to welcome new students into the Cougar family.

The event included remarks from, among others, President Ellen Neufeldt, Provost Carl Kemnitz and Illeana Carmona Chavez, the chair and chief of staff for Associated Students, Inc.

Relive some of the highlights from the two ceremonies in the New Student and Family Convocation photo slideshow.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

President Ellen Neufeldt expressed excitement and optimism about the new academic year during her annual convocation address to faculty and staff last Thursday.

“As we think about the start of school, in this moment in time – now more than ever – it is important that we remember why we are here,” Neufeldt said. “Why we show up. Why we keep going. We believe in the power and the promise of higher education. And we believe in the mission of this university.” 

Neufeldt highlighted many of the university’s achievements over the past year, while also looking ahead to what is in store. That includes CSUSM’s fundraising campaign, the largest capital campaign in university history.  

The campaign aims to raise $200 million through philanthropic support and sponsored research to expand programs, fund scholarships, advance faculty work and strengthen the infrastructure that drives social mobility and lifts the entire region.  

“This is not just about dollars,” Neufeldt said. “It’s about lasting impact.” 

New science building

On July 31, CSUSM broke ground on its future Integrated Science and Engineering (ISE) Building, which will allow the university to respond to the critical need for STEM programs, including new engineering majors and enrollment growth.

The ISE building is estimated to cost $110 million and will be funded through commitments from California State University and private support. It will cover more than 70,000 square feet over three stories. The first publicly funded academic structure on campus in more than a decade, it’s expected to open in fall 2027.

Name for new housing project

The new University Village Housing and Dining Project, which is expected to be ready in time for the fall 2026 semester, has been formally named Black Oak Hall and Kwíila Dining.

The names were determined following thoughtful input from a campus naming committee and student representatives. Kwíila is the Luiseño word for “acorn” and was chosen to honor the local tribal heritage and the land on which CSUSM resides.

CSUSM named to best colleges list 

CSUSM was named to the “Best Colleges in America 2025” list by Money magazine. CSUSM received a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5.

The list, which includes 732 colleges, showcases the country’s top values, based on graduation rates, cost of attendance, financial aid, alumni salaries and more.

Weeks of Welcome

The annual Weeks of Welcome, which started Aug. 22, includes dozens of events for students to meet new people and kick off the academic year.

Visit the Weeks of Welcome calendar for a complete schedule.

Arts & Lectures for fall

The university’s longstanding Arts & Lectures series recently released its fall lineup. This season boasts a diverse selection of five events.

Attendees can reserve tickets online via the Arts & Lectures website.

Summer highlights

• CSUSM was selected for the third straight year as an Angeles Higher Education Impact Award honoree.
• A new master’s degree program in clinical counseling psychology was approved by the CSU Chancellor’s Office to accept applications this fall.
• Edward Mills was appointed as interim chief enrollment officer, beginning his tenure on July 28.
• Cinthya Ippoliti started in her position as the new dean for the University Library on July 1.
• Two alumni were selected for the CSU Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program, also known as CDIP, for the incoming 2025-26 cohort. 
• Surfer and business student Tanner Vodraska captured his second consecutive national title at the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) Interscholastic Championships.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314