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

Gallegos is on track to graduate this fall as a child and adolescent development major. Her academic path hasn’t been a straight line.

“I graduated from high school in 2020 during COVID,” Gallegos said. “I started at my local community college that same summer and stayed at that college for three years, finishing my general education in 2023.”

After earning an associate degree, Gallegos took an eight-month break not to relax or go on vacation, but to work.

“I told myself that the only reason why I was taking those eight months off was to save up to come here and not have to work as much for my first semester because I didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “I really struggled a lot in the community college, so I wanted to make sure that school was my priority.”

By spring 2024, Gallegos was enrolled full-time at CSUSM. Her so-called “break” didn’t last long. Within weeks, she was back to juggling two jobs: cleaning homes and working at a local gym, all while maintaining a full-time course load.

She started working at the gym out of necessity after losing her restaurant position during the pandemic, and the cleaning opportunity came by chance from the person who cleaned her family’s home.

Despite her grueling schedule, Gallegos made the dean’s list last fall, an achievement that took her by surprise.

“At first, I thought it was a scam email,” Gallegos said, laughing. “I knew I had done well, but I never thought I’d be recognized for it. It felt empowering. Like all the sacrifices had paid off.”

As she reflects on her journey to get here, the word “sacrifice” frequently comes up. From the long commute to the long workdays, not to mention staying up late to study, Gallegos sees her hard-earned progress as not just a personal success but a tribute to resilience.

“Passing isn’t always easy,” she said.

Gallegos lives at home with her mom and is part of a tight-knit CSUSM legacy. Both her parents are alumni, and her younger sister is a student as well. Her family connections add more profound meaning to her academic milestones.

Looking ahead, she plans to take another eight-month break after graduation. But again, calling it a break is probably not accurate.

She’ll continue working two jobs to save for graduate school, prepare for the GRE and study for the Spanish proficiency exam required to enter the university’s credential program. Her goal is to become a dual immersion teacher and make an impact in bilingual classrooms.

For now, Gallegos is focused on finishing strong.

“Every day, I remind myself why I started,” she said. “It is about the sacrifices we make that are temporary for long-term success.”

In a world where instant gratification often dominates, Gallegos is living proof that dedication, purpose and perseverance never go out of style.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

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

But before putting the finishing touches on your list of New Year’s resolutions, let’s take a look back at some of the most-talked-about stories of 2024.

CSUSM Receives Two Gifts Totaling $20 Million, Largest in 35-Year History

In a historic moment, Cal State San Marcos received two philanthropic donations totaling $20 million – the largest gifts in its 35-year history. $10 million from Price Philanthropies Foundation will create a first-of-its-kind, three-year accelerated bachelor's degree and workforce pipeline for behavioral and mental health. The other $10 million came from Daniel J. Epstein – a director of the CSUSM Foundation Board – and his wife, Phyllis. Their contribution will serve as a unique dollar-for-dollar matching gift opportunity for all CSUSM donors to double their impact across campus.

Balancing Act: Master's Grad Perseveres Through Challenges

A master’s of biological sciences student, Jocelyne Dates was selected last spring as the recipient of the 2024 President's Outstanding Graduate Award, the highest honor a graduating student can receive. She also received the Dean’s Award for Graduate Studies, which recognizes the accomplishments of one master’s student. Jocelyne is continuing her education by pursuing her Ph.D. at Vanderbilt.

'I Just Want to Make Him Proud and My Life to Count'

Last spring, at 76 years old, Kathryn Cook walked across the graduation stage as the oldest graduate of Cal State San Marcos' class of 2024. Her path to this accomplishment was not one of a traditional four-year-and-done experience. In fact, it was 50 years in the making, with monumental life transitions and rocky hardships in between. The passing of Cook’s husband in 2019 led her to continue her education at CSUSM and graduate with a sociology degree.

From the Baseball Diamond to 'The Bachelorette'

Austin Ott had never watched an episode of “The Bachelorette” when he received a DM on Instagram from the show encouraging him to apply. While nervous, his communication and media studies degree from Cal State San Marcos gave him a foundation to build on. Ott’s first speech in COMM 100 gave him an idea of what being in the public eye might look like. “My time at Cal State San Marcos was probably the best years of my life,” said Ott, who graduated in 2019. “There’s nothing better than playing the game you love and being around your best friends.”

American Indian Student Follows Passion for Animals, Environment

Aiden Valverde, an American Indian Studies major from the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, has made significant contributions through his engagement with the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center. As an intern for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Valverde was able to connect more with his culture, and his passion for animals and the environment. “Aiden exemplifies everything we strive to achieve in American Indian Studies and at the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center,” said Joely Proudfit, the department chair of American Indian Studies.

Computers a Lifelong Passion for Trustees' Award Winner

In 2009, Minh Tran’s family moved to Escondido from Vietnam, the only home that he, his parents and his two older siblings had ever known. Now, the fourth-year student who’s on track to graduate in May, was honored as CSUSM’s recipient of the 2024 CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement, the California State University’s highest recognition of student accomplishment. Students are selected based on academic achievements, financial need, excellence in community service and personal hardship. Awardees have all demonstrated inspirational resolve along the path to college success, and many are the first in their families to attend college.

Graduate Crafting Career on Helping Children

A child and adolescent development major at Cal State San Marcos, Tania Arceo spent the last year and a half working with Voices for Children, a nonprofit organization where volunteers are trained to become court-appointed special advocates. Volunteers like Arceo represent juvenile dependency cases in San Diego County. Since graduating last spring with her bachelor’s, Arceo has started her Master of Social Work program at CSUSM this fall. 

Alumnus Seeks Better Mental Health Through Better Cuts

John Edwards was only 12 years old when he taught himself how to cut his own hair. By the time Edwards enrolled at Cal State San Marcos as a transfer student returning to higher education in 2021, he was close to completing barber school. Now a licensed barber and a recent CSUSM graduate, he operates a small studio in San Diego, rotating about 25 clients through his single chair. Edwards studied psychology at CSUSM, and it was at the university that he dreamed up the idea of melding his longtime practice of barbering with his fledgling research on mental health treatment. 
 

CSUSM Earns Prestigious Seal for Serving Latinx Students

Cal State San Marcos has earned the prestigious Seal of Excelencia, a national certification for institutions that strive to go beyond enrollment and more intentionally serve Latinx students. CSUSM is one of only 17 colleges and universities to earn the Seal of Excelencia in 2024. In 2018, Excelencia introduced the seal to certify colleges and universities for their efforts to become learning environments where Latinx, and all, students thrive. This year marks the organization’s 20th year of service to accelerate Latinx student success in higher education.

Surfer Makes School History With National Title

Tanner Vodraska, a Cal State San Marcos business student, became the first surfer in university history to win an individual national title. The junior competed in the college men’s division of the 2024 National Scholastic Surfing Association interscholastic national championships at Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point. Vodraska dominated the field. He posted a two-wave score of 17.5 points in the final, far outdistancing his closest competitor. “I feel really proud of myself because I set a goal to win the national title before I graduate, and I accomplished it,” Vodraska said.

Incredible Mulk: Class Project Becomes Thriving Business

Melissa Finestone remembers the assignment in her business marketing class that started it all. Each student was required to develop a business plan based on a product they conceived. Finestone decided to curate a product that combined her passion for cooking with a childhood love of chocolate milk. But Finestone wanted to develop a healthy alternative to other chocolate milks on the market. When Finestone couldn’t find a product on the market that met her requirements, she chose to make her own. Using her Vitamix blender to grind almonds in her kitchen at home, Finestone crafted samples of chocolate- and strawberry-flavored, plant-based almond milk. She served it to each student in the class while presenting her product. The overwhelming support from her peers inspired Finestone to launch The Mulk Co. in June 2018, only one year after she graduated from Cal State San Marcos with a bachelor’s degree in global business management. 

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

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

While her father has been an exceptional woodcarver for decades, Tania Arceo focuses on painting. But not in the way one would expect.

A child and adolescent development major at Cal State San Marcos, Arceo has spent the last year and a half working with Voices for Children, a nonprofit organization where volunteers are trained to become court-appointed special advocates (CASAs). Volunteers like Arceo represent juvenile dependency cases in San Diego County.

“I'm basically their companion and their voice,” Arceo said. “I have the honor of getting to understand their stories and represent them in front of the judge during the various court cases and meetings that we have.” 

Arceo is making a strong impact on the foster youth that she represents. She focuses on displaying a unique visual element of the children, allowing the judges to understand them better.  

“They're typically this black-and-white file,” Arceo said. “The judge really wants to know who the child is at their core, what is in their best interest, so I paint their picture. And it's important to paint that part of the picture for everybody so that they can understand these children and their behaviors. Sometimes they act in a certain way, and we label that as negative or we label the child as struggling. But all that child really needs is somebody to invest in them a little bit of attention.” 

As someone who deals with imposter syndrome, Areceo had an eye-opening experience when she realized how much of an impact she makes on the children. 

“I try to highlight them in court. I talk to them about all their strengths, their differing abilities, and I give recommendations on what the best placement for them is,” Arceo said. “To my surprise, every single time that I've gone to court, my suggestions are the ones chosen.” 

Arceo had to go through a month of training to be part of Voices for Children. That period helped her understand the different situations she might face. She also was trained in court report writing. 

Areceo feels such a connection for these kids because of her past experiences. Born in Tijuana, Areceo and her family moved to San Diego when she was just 6 months old. Her father was offered a job at a factory, which prompted the family’s move. 

Arceo’s father was offered the job due his work as a woodcarver. He was orphaned by the time he was 14 and, being the oldest of six siblings, he took on the responsibility to care for the family. 

With this new burden, her father looked toward the art of woodcarving to make ends meet. 

“He would stop by these wood shops and he would hang out for a while before they would shoo him away,” Arceo said. “Eventually they told them, ‘If you're gonna hang out here, then might as well put you to use,’ and they started teaching him carpentry. He really fell in love with it and started engaging with the art of woodcarving.”

Arceo’s father is attracted to woodcarving in large part because of the magic he finds in the wood and the story it tells. 

For Arceo’s upcoming graduation, her father used his skills to show admiration for his daughter being the first in the family to graduate from college. The wooden gift points out important characteristics of her journey at CSUSM.

While his woodcarving talent brought the Arceo family to the United States, it continues to forge a connection between Arceo and her father. 

“I do woodworking as a kind of side hobby, more so to spend time with my dad,” Arceo said.  “I want to spend time with him and listen to his stories.” 

Arceo’s father is interested in mythology and Mexican culture, and Arceo loves to listen to him share his knowledge on the subjects. Since he did not have access to education or amenities such as a library, Arceo believes she owes it to him to pursue higher education. 

“The fact that they were able to bring me here and allow me to open up these doors for myself, I know that it means so much to my parents," she said. "I could do something that they didn't have the opportunity to do.” 

Arceo will wrap up this chapter at commencement this weekend. But she’ll be back on campus in the fall as part of the Master of Social Work program as she looks toward a career with Child Protective Services. 

Her family will be cheering her on in the crowd while she gets her diploma, and they will continue to cheer her on no matter what she does next.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

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

It was “Risk and Resiliency in Childhood and Adolescence,” a requirement for his child and adolescent development major. Frank’s professor, Sharon Hamill, had one message above all others that she wanted students to take away from the class.

“I told them to always remember how important it is to have an adult who cares about you,” Hamill said. “It changes everything. Just an engagement with someone where you really hear them, you know them, and they feel valued, that in and of itself helps to make young people – and all of us actually – very much more resilient.”

It’s a lesson that stayed with Frank after graduating in 2019, and one he continued to keep top of mind as he earned his master’s in social work from CSUSM two years later. Today, he’s putting that advice to work in his role as a therapist at Casa de Amparo, a short-term residential therapeutic program for girls ages 12-18 who have been victims of child abuse and neglect.

“We learned in that class that the biggest predictor for kids building resiliency skills is having a trusted adult in their life, just a trusted adult that they can connect with,” said Frank, recalling Hamill’s course.

“We talked about this idea of buffers. If a kid is going down the wrong path, a buffer gets in the way and steers them to a different path. And that buffer is a trusted, caring adult. I remember thinking, ‘I want to be a buffer for these kids.’ That was a huge moment in my life when it came to why I want to do this work.”

Frank was an intern at Casa de Amparo, which is three miles north of campus, while pursuing his master’s. His positive demeanor, energy and rapport with both clients and staff led to his being hired full time after graduation. A member of CSUSM’s basketball team while a student, Frank saw a need among the girls at Casa de Amparo for a health program that would positively impact their physical and mental well-being.

The result was his creation last March of an incentive-based workout program. Children at Casa de Amparo are given a weekly allowance, and Frank worked with the organization’s administration to provide financial incentives for the biweekly workouts.

“We see so many of our kids who haven't had a healthy lifestyle modeled for them,” said Erin Gospodarec, Casa de Amparo’s chief operating officer. “Being able to see them focus on their physical health and how that is improving their overall mental health has just been dramatic.”

Frank’s program includes five exercises – regular pushups, modified pushups, planks, wall sits and running. He intentionally chose exercises that require no equipment and would allow the girls to easily do them outside of the formal biweekly workouts. He even created an additional incentive to help motivate the girls to continue doing the exercises on their own.

Girls receive $1 extra in their allowance for each exercise they complete, meaning they can earn an additional $5 if they complete all five exercises. They can earn up to $5 more by beating their previous record ($1 for each record broken).

If the girls see that they can set a goal and surpass it when it comes to pushups or wall sits, Frank said they’ll learn that they can apply that to other parts of their life, too.

“The reality is lots of these kids have been abused,” he said. “So they’ve had their physical bodies taken from them in some ways. And now, because of that experience, they no longer feel in control their physical bodies. Doing these types of exercises, doing this workout program, it teaches them to regain control of their physical bodies.”

And that, Hamill noted, is what sets Frank’s program apart.

“It's not just an exercise class,” she said. “It's really about learning how to say, ‘I can take control over my own body, my own behavior. And I've got this person here who cares about me and is going to support my efforts.’ In many cases, it might be the first time in their life that anybody's ever done that.”

The positive feedback Frank has received, both from participants and professionals, has him examining how he might expand the program. He is meeting with representatives from CSUSM’s Innovation Hub to learn more about ways in which he can grow it.

But the goal isn’t about building a business, it’s about having a lasting impact on at-risk children.

“I've been a teacher for 35 years, and I've never had a student that was so intuitive and so engaged – and I've had lots of really smart students,” Hamill said. “Alec is the kind of person who you meet, and he changes things for you. There's an expression that says ‘Be the person who makes other people believe in good people,’ and Alec is that person.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

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

It was hanging by a thread for Rubi Duran a few years ago.

Diagnosed with advanced kidney failure following a trip to the emergency room for headaches and knee swelling, she was told by doctors she probably had two weeks to live if she hadn’t come in.

Immediate kidney dialysis ensued, but that only slowed the inevitable.

A child and adolescent development major at Cal State San Marcos at the time of her diagnosis, Duran’s only chance at survival was to find a match for a kidney transplant.

A thread.

The ideal college student

Early in her college career, Duran was the type of student professors love having in their classrooms.

Attentive and present, she was active and driven toward a path of becoming a teacher.

The spring 2020 semester was truncated due to the onset of the pandemic in March. But even that didn’t slow Duran the student down.

A positive person with a huge smile, she was also working at a preschool in her hometown of Escondido while taking a full load of courses.

Janice Phung is an assistant professor of psychology at CSUSM. She had Duran in a class that spring and was impressed with her dedication to studying.

“She was the only student who diligently came to my office hours regularly and would come to ask questions, go over her quizzes and exams, and check in about her progress in the course,” Phung said. “She was also genuinely interested in the course content and wanted to learn as much as she could outside of class.”

Any doctor will say that a natural positive outlook on life is a crucial component to staying healthy. It’s even more important when someone is facing a life-threatening illness.

“It was evident to me that Rubi was an eager student who was proactive in ensuring that she would do well in my class, and her efforts made me much more understanding when she went through her health issues,” Phung said. “I already knew her as a student and as a person, and I knew what she was capable of accomplishing despite her health issues.”

The news

The beginning months of the pandemic saw nearly everyone downplay their illnesses.

So when Duran had constant headaches and some knee swelling, she didn’t think much of it. Neither did her primary doctors. They were content with her waiting three months for an in-person visit.

But when she woke up one morning with a face so swollen she was hardly recognizable, a trip to the emergency room ensued.

Being young and healthy usually doesn’t concern medical professionals so quickly, but when her lab results came back, the worst fears were realized.

“It turned out that I had what they call end-stage renal disease, stage five,” Duran said. “I had kidney failure. The explanations that doctors told me is it's a very silent disease that no one knows until you get very ill. And sure enough, my symptoms like having a headache everyday was because I had really high blood pressure where I could have gotten a heart attack, and I didn't know it. My swelling was because I was retaining water for so long. They had no reasoning why I had this disease. It could have been an infection that my body was fighting since I was little, and I didn't know why.”

Basically, your body rejects your organs when this happens. For Duran, it happened to be her kidney.

There was no history of kidney disease in her family. That, combined with her age, stumped doctors. Without immediate action in the form of dialysis and eventual transplant, she would die. The dialysis was relatively easy to execute. The transplant, not so much.

So the prognosis and diagnosis were not nearly as important and urgent as the plan.

The clock ticks … TikTok

Getting a kidney transplant is normally a challenging process that often ends in disappointment.

The process usually begins with trying to find a match among family members. But that yielded zero results for Duran. That was a big blow because it typically takes 10-plus years to find a match if there’s not one in the family.

She got on the national transplant registry list, but as one can imagine, that list is extensive.

So Duran had an idea for a unique source to spread her story to a wide audience.

She had known the social media platform TikTok as a place to share short dance video edits. That was primarily what it was known for in its infancy.

In fact, she had personal experience with the power of TikTok when she posted a video of her older brother coming home from his military duty and surprising their parents. The video was so impactful, it gained her 70,000 followers almost overnight.

But her story was personal on another level.

“I had already known that I wanted to post my story on TikTok, but a part of me didn't want a lot of people to know,” Duran said. “So I knew that I was going to have to put myself out there. And I was just very scared because I know people weren't going to really understand me. I was very scared of what people were going to say or just label me as a disabled person and not see me for who I am. But that video (of my brother) went viral and I got so many likes, I knew I had to put my story out there.”

The reaction was immediate, kind and powerful.

Her message was clear – not solely to seek a matching donor but also to bring awareness of renal failure and its symptoms.

Her followers increased as her story was shared with thousands of people all over the world.

Someone about 100 miles up Interstate 5 would turn out to be the crucial recipient of her links.

As fate would have it

Duran got tens of thousands of likes and new followers. She made connections with others who had undergone kidney transplant surgery as well as family members of those currently waiting for a match.

Thousands of people applied to be a match. She found a community of support that went a long way into healing her and bringing her inner peace.

But the match wasn’t coming, and she was losing the thing that carried her throughout this brutal journey – hope.

Not to mention she lost 30 pounds as the dialysis treatment made her ill. It interrupted her school schedule, but thanks to Phung and other flexible faculty, she was able to stay relatively on track.

About a year after she posted her first TikTok video, doctors told her it was dire. If a matching donor couldn’t be identified soon, her health would rapidly deteriorate.

And then fate stepped up in the form of Sandra Leon.

A 26-year-old Army reservist, Leon volunteered her kidney at UCLA Medical Center shortly after returning from deployment.  While waiting for paperwork to be completed, she started her own search and came across Duran’s post.

“She was looking for a donor with O positive blood type,” said Leon, now 28 and working as an HVAC dispatcher for Veteran Air and still in the Army reserves. “I knew I was O positive so I reached out to her and asked her if she had already found someone, and she responded letting me know she had not. So I immediately reached out to my UCLA coordinator and asked if it was possible to test me for Rubi’s match.

“I truly believe that we were both put in each other’s path by fate. My donation process was through a completely different county. It could have gone to anyone, but it went to Rubi. I am glad I acted quickly because it would not have been possible had UCLA already found a recipient that I was a match for.”

Duran was admittedly down at this point. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say she had lost hope. For someone who lights up the room with her smile and positivity, that was crushing news to everyone in her inner circle.

So when she received a call from her doctor one day on her way to work, her expectations were low.

“I thought she was going to call me just to do blood work to make sure that I'm still healthy to be on the list because every year you have to relist to be in the living donor program,” Duran said. “She just said, ‘I just wanted to tell you that we found a perfect match for you. Her name is Sandra Leon. She's 26 and in the military. She's really healthy. And she just genuinely wants to donate to you, and she found your story on TikTok, and she's already in touch.’ So yeah, that was like, ‘Wow.’ ”

When Duran recounts that moment today, she understandably gets emotional. It was the day her life changed forever.

The transplant surgery was in October 2021. To call it a success is an understatement. In fact, her surgeon told her it was the prettiest kidney he had ever seen so it should serve her well into old age.

“Rubi seemed like a very sweet and genuine person from her posts,” Leon said. “She looked hopeful, full of life, and despite what she was going through, she shared her story and her battle to spread awareness. I think us being so close in age also instantly convinced me. She still has her whole life ahead of her. I knew she should have a shot at life.”

Duran and Leon are close today. They talk or FaceTime daily. Leon refers to herself as an older sister.

The two large families will get together for a Mother’s Day celebration this weekend that will have extra meaning this year. Duran will graduate from CSUSM the following week, and Leon welcomed her daughter Sofia to the world just four months ago.

Duran will wear her cap and gown next week. Many students will walk across the stage having overcome remarkable challenges, Duran included.

If anyone deserves a break, it’s Duran. And she’ll take one. Her path to being a kindergarten teacher will veer to social work. She wants to enter a master’s degree program to train to help others like she was helped by so many social workers during her journey.

But that master’s program will wait at least a year so she can catch her breath, reflect on her journey and accomplishments, and give proper thanks to Phung, her family, her “kidney family,” and all of those in her inner circle and social media circle who helped inspire her.

It’s neither fair nor just to compare one person’s struggles to another. But perhaps no student will celebrate next week who without hope, generosity and maybe a miracle, wouldn’t be here.

“Never,” said Phung when asked if she ever had moments of mentally preparing for Duran not making it. “I never doubted what Rubi was capable of doing. I had moments of worry about her health and recovery, but I never doubted that once she was healthy again that she would get right back on the horse and finish up to graduate. It's just who she is.

“She is a resilient, resourceful and determined young woman, and I have no doubt that she can accomplish anything that she sets her mind to.”

Visit Rubi Duran's TikTok page to view videos of her kidney transplant journey.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist

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

In fact, Pasley may not have learned about some of the financial assistance available were it not for her women’s, gender and sexuality studies professor, Kit-Bacon Gressitt.

“She has been amazing,” Pasley said. “She kept us updated the entire time. In class, she said, ‘I'll send you emails, and I'll just keep you updated on what I know.’ She's the one who sent most of the resources, just different links you could check out for things like mental health resources, all kinds of stuff. And it really helped.”

Pasley, who transferred to CSUSM from MiraCosta College last fall, received financial assistance through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and also the ASI Student Emergency Fund. Students have also found help through CSUSM’s Student Relief Fund.

The money provided some much-needed financial relief for Pasley, who lost her job working at the child development center at MiraCosta, which temporarily had to close because of the pandemic. Although the center is reopening, regulations from the state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mean fewer children allowed in classes, eliminating the need for Pasley’s position at this time.

Though Pasley’s husband has been able to continue his job as a security guard, it has been difficult relying on one income. The extra money Pasley received through the CARES Act and Student Emergency Fund has been used to pay bills, but she said it remains a challenge to buy groceries and keep up with new incoming bills.

“I am hoping when my financial aid kicks in in August that we can make it stretch until January of next year,” she said.

Pasley has been searching for a new job using Handshake, which is available through CSUSM’s Career Center to assist students, in addition to checking other job websites.

“I like Handshake because it doesn't just tell you a grocery story is hiring a cashier,” she said. “It’s jobs that are more in your field of study.”

For Pasley, that means something related to her child and adolescent development major. After earning her bachelor’s, she plans to pursue a master’s in social work with a goal of becoming an art therapist for middle school children.

As she continues her job search, Pasley is keeping busy by starting a podcast with two close friends. Called “Mmk,” the podcast will soon be available on PodBean (they’re in the process of editing episodes) and features the trio discussing topics related to being a millennial in your early 30s.

Pasley is also gearing up for her second year at CSUSM this fall. She said her professors made the transition to virtual learning as smooth as possible during the spring. After becoming accustomed to studying in the library, the biggest adjustment was finding a quiet place at home to study because she and her husband live with his 92-year-old grandmother, who is battling dementia.

But Pasley remains upbeat despite the challenges.

“I'm sure other people have way more hardships than that,” she said. “So I can deal.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist

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