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

When he was a student at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels, linguistics took him to some of the cradles of Polynesian culture: Samoa, Hawaii, New Zealand and back to Hawaii.

And when he was seeking his first tenure-track job in the field, linguistics took him to Cal State San Marcos as an assistant professor in the liberal studies department five years ago.

Muāgututiʻa, though, never could have dreamed that linguistics would take him here – on the shores of Oʻahu, the waves lapping at the sugary sand, as he walked the blue carpet (yes, blue) and rubbed elbows with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and other stars of the Disney glitterati before the world premiere of the animated film “Moana 2” last November.

“It wasn’t even in the realm of my imagination,” Muāgututiʻa said. “But it was an awesome experience.”

You don’t think of linguistics, simply defined as the scientific study of language, as intersecting neatly with a visual medium like cinema. And indeed, Muāgututiʻa was more than a little caught off guard when the filmmaking team behind the sequel to the wildly popular movie “Moana” from 2016 contacted him out of the blue two years ago.

They were seeking a linguist to lend an air of authenticity to character names and other language used in “Moana 2,” which picks up the story of a young heroine from ancient Oceania who’s called by the ocean to go on an epic wayfinding journey. Muāgututiʻa might not have been expecting the directors’ call, but he certainly was a qualified candidate.

“As far as I know,” he said, “I’m the only Samoan with a Ph.D. in linguistics in the entire world.”

Muāgututiʻa was invited to join the Oceanic Cultural Trust, a collective established for the original “Moana” nine years ago to ensure that the film was not only authentic but also respectful of the cultures and histories of Polynesia. Besides Muāgututiʻa as the linguist, the other 12 members of the trust include an archaeologist, a botanist, a choreographer, a historian and additional cultural experts.

The Oceanic Cultural Trust is headed by Kalikolehua Hurley, who was born and raised on Oʻahu. Hurley, who affectionately calls Muāgututiʻa “Dr. Grant,” came to CSUSM last fall as part of a panel discussion about the work of the trust, following a screening of “Moana 2.”

“We aim for the stories we create at Disney Animation to reflect the peoples, cultures and places we’re inspired by in their creation,” Hurley said. “ ‘Moana,’ which finds inspiration in Pacific peoples, cultures and islands, would not feel truthful without the inclusion of all the things that make the Pacific what it is, including, of course, language.”

Muāgututiʻa was excited by the opportunity to contribute his expertise to “Moana 2,” which debuted on Disney+ on March 12. He recalls being a doctoral student in Hawaii when the original was released and taking his wife and (at the time) two young children to see it in the theater.

“I was very moved and inspired by it,” Muāgututiʻa said. “It was amazing to see representations of our culture on the big screen like that."

Over the course of many months starting in 2023, Muāgututiʻa and the other members of the trust participated in a series of screening cycles – essentially viewing the film in various stages of completion – and afterward met with the filmmakers to discuss their thoughts as a group.

In addition to providing general cultural feedback, as the resident linguist, Muāgututiʻa was relied upon to suggest language for the film – from character and location names to more granular things like dialogue, dialect, pronunciation and spelling – both for the movie itself and for marketing materials leading up to the release. And he couldn’t just fall back on his deep knowledge of the Samoan language; rather, he had to tap into words and phrases common to all of the Pacific Islands, an umbrella term that also covers lands such as Hawaii, New Zealand, Tahiti and Tonga.

Muāgututiʻa’s most valuable contribution was the name of the villain, Nalo, which means “lost” in a variety of different Polynesian languages. Nalo is the god of storms who is jealous of the bonds that humans form between each other and uses his power to curse the island of Motufetū and cut off the voyaging between islands.

Muāgututiʻa also gave the movie the character of a fruit bat named Peka, the sidekick of a secondary antagonist, Matangi, who’s an eccentric demigoddess and Nalo’s enforcer. Fruit bats are plentiful in Samoa, and the word “peka” can be traced back to the original Polynesian language thousands of years ago.

“I helped shape the names in the movie,” Muāgututiʻa said, “although they all might not have come directly from my brain.”

One of the words that didn’t come from Muāgututiʻa’s brain but that pleased him greatly is “tautai,” which means “wayfinder” (or “navigator” or “seafarer”) and is the title that Moana receives during a special ceremony. “Tautai” also happens to be the name of Muāgututiʻa’s second son (he has four children total, the most recent a son born in January).

“Watching the film, when he hears his name, his face just lights up,” Muāgututiʻa said. “For my kids, Moana has always been there, so they’ve always seen themselves on the big screen. That’s huge for me, both as a father and a scholar.”

As the son of two parents of Samoan descent who was raised in one of the most populous Samoan communities in California, Muāgututiʻa marinated in all things Polynesia as a child – even as he assimilated quickly into the American way of life. His twin passions were language and the performing arts, which makes sense given that they are so intertwined in Polynesian culture that they might as well be synonymous. Polynesia had no written language until only a couple of centuries ago, so music and dance were employed to convey stories across the ages.

Muāgututiʻa, in fact, felt torn between studying linguistics and ethnomusicology in college. He chose linguistics, of course, and attended the University of Hawaii at Mānoa (the first university in the nation to offer Samoan language courses) for his bachelor’s degree and doctorate, with a stop in between for his master’s at the University of Auckland in Aotearoa New Zealand. Auckland, not coincidentally, is the largest Polynesian city in the world.

“I was able to piece together this curriculum that I was super interested in,” he said, “learning and filling gaps of the facets of history that weren't available to me in Southern California.”

During and between the time that he pursued his two advanced degrees, Muāgututiʻa worked in Polynesian outreach for the Oceanside Unified School District and as the director of performing arts for the Le Fetūao Samoan Language Center in Hawaii (for the latter, he received an award in the shape of a fish hook, a traditional Polynesian symbol, that’s displayed in his office at CSUSM.)

Muāgututiʻa is a linguist professionally, but his love of music still burns brightly. For the last three years, he has been in a band called FAIVA (Samoan for “craft”) with two other Samoan musicians. FAIVA has played at CSUSM a few times, and one of their most cherished gigs is performing songs from “Moana” and other Polynesian favorites at Disneyland for hundreds of wide-eyed children and their families.

A big part of Muāgututiʻa’s work as a scholar is the melding of language and performing arts, and using the latter as a vehicle for the maintenance and even revitalization of Polynesian languages, many of which face endangerment. At CSUSM, he’s part of a group of faculty and staff behind the Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi American (APIDA) Success Initiative; one of the thrusts of that collective is utilizing grant money to support language curriculum development for Pacific Island studies.

Last year, CSUSM launched its first Samoan language and performing arts program, a five-week course in partnership with MiraCosta College that brought 30 kids from K-8 and 30 adults to campus. The program culminated in a performance at the Oceanside Samoan Cultural Celebration last July.

“There's such a strong interest and a thirst to learn our culture, learn our language,” Muāgututiʻa said. “Not only has that enabled outreach to the community, but it also has helped me with the opportunity to develop and test curricular materials. None of this would have been possible without the support of CSUSM and the awesome team of faculty and staff that we have here.”

The runaway success of movie franchises like “Moana” – the two films have grossed a total of almost $2 billion worldwide – can only aid in the linguistic and cultural preservation that is the foundation of Muāgututiʻa’s career. And he’s not done with “Moana,” either. He also is a member of the cultural trust for the live-action version of “Moana” that’s set to premiere in summer 2026. He frequently was on location for that film, the production of which wrapped last fall.

“In a lot of ways, I was just in the right place at the right time,” Muāgututiʻa said of his work on both versions of “Moana.” “It's a lot of pressure, but also a huge privilege that comes with the responsibility to be able to speak for me personally, for my family, for my people on a platform that millions and millions of people will see for a long time. We haven't always been welcome in these spaces, and to have that opportunity now, I don't take it lightly.”

Watch more videos, of Muāgututiʻa singing a song from “Moana” and sharing the connection of music to Polynesian culture. 

Media Contact

Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist

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

At the time, there were four main buildings on campus with University Hall having just opened a couple of years before Charles graduated with her liberal studies degree.

So, it’s easy to imagine her shock at seeing campus for the first time since those commencement ceremonies when she arrived in the summer of 2023 to attend family orientation with her daughter, Kaiah, who was an incoming first-year student that fall.

“It was crazy,” Charles said. “I thought, ‘This was my little school, and it's just so beautiful.’ I was so proud of how far it's come. I almost got teary eyed. I feel like I was there at the beginning, and it's become this incredible university. Attending orientation, I don’t know why people in the area would want to go anywhere else. It’s so gorgeous and you have everything.”

Charles attended CSUSM with a single goal – becoming an elementary school teacher. And she credits the university for helping to prepare her for the career she’s enjoyed for more than two decades.

“Like with anything, once you actually get into teaching it can be so different than what you learned in school,” Charles said. “But CSUSM really does a great job of setting you up for success.

“It was helpful that so many of my professors had been in the classroom before. It wasn't someone just telling you what it was going to be like, it was based on real-life experience. That made a huge difference learning from people who actually know what you're going to be going through and what it’s like. They didn’t sugarcoat everything, which was good because they know that there are good things about teaching and there are challenging things about teaching.”

Charles was a first-generation college student, and she was focused from a young age on becoming a teacher (brief thoughts about becoming a nurse ended in fifth grade when she sliced open her hand and saw the blood). She always loved working with kids – even when she was one herself. In elementary school, she often helped in the kindergarten classes, loving every minute working with younger students.

An Escondido native, Charles taught in her hometown at Conway Elementary (now known as Conway Academy of Expeditionary Learning) for three years before moving across town to help open Bernardo Elementary School in 2005. She has been at Bernardo ever since, teaching first grade throughout her career.

“I love what I do,” Charles said. “First grade is so much fun because a lot of these kids come in knowing letters and sounds, but they literally leave as readers. First grade is so foundational that just to see their growth is so rewarding.

“And we have great families at Bernardo. I love my team that I work with and we have an awesome principal. I couldn't work at a better school.”

Charles has similar feelings about CSUSM. She was about 7 months pregnant with her first child, Benjamin, when she received her teaching credential at commencement in 2001. A year later, she began teaching at Conway. She had three more children – Kaiah and sons Elijah and Josiah – with Kaiah following in her mom’s footsteps by attending CSUSM.

Like her mom, Kaiah is looking toward a career working with children. She is majoring in psychological science and works about 30 hours a week doing applied behavior analysis therapy to help young children with autism learn and develop skills.

“I love working with kids. I feel like I was born to do it,” said Kaiah, who likely will pursue her master’s with an eye on being a therapist.

It's gratifying for Charles to see how Kaiah is finding her place at CSUSM and looking forward to diving deeper into her major as she completes her general education courses.      

“I'm so happy she's there, and she's really happy that she's there, too,” Charles said. “Right from the time we got to orientation, it just felt like a family and a community.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

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

Gonzales referred to these regular meetups as her “counseling sessions” because Rivera-Lacey always shared sound advice. The two friends would chat over a cup of coffee and, if they were lucky and had enough money, share a piece of pie. 

When Gonzales was struggling, Rivera-Lacey would ask, “On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being world poverty, where does this problem fall?”  

Gonzales would typically respond with a low number on the scale, but the exercise helped her see her problems from a different perspective.  

“It taught me to stop sweating the small stuff,” said Gonzales, who is now retired from the San Diego County Office of Education. “That was one of her biggest powers, because now I share it with my own kids and I've shared it with other students. And I've heard people give it back and tell me the same thing. She always had that optimism of looking ahead.” 

That optimism continues to this day as Rivera-Lacey has grown from poverty in childhood to earning a Ph.D. and today serving as the first Latina superintendent/president of Palomar College. It was that ability to remain optimistic during challenging times that helped her become the first in her family to graduate from college when she received a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies at Cal State San Marcos. 

It seems Rivera-Lacey’s parents knew she had a bright future from the moment they named her. 

"My mom really wanted me to have aspirations and picked the highest thing in the sky,” Rivera-Lacey said. “That's why she named me Star.” 

Money was always tight for Rivera-Lacey as a child growing up in Oceanside. Her parents immigrated from El Salvador before she was born, and they always stressed the importance of a college degree to allow her to have a promising career and future. 

With her parents’ encouragement, Rivera-Lacey cultivated a passion for learning from a young age. She saw how they worked to improve their English by taking ESL classes at Palomar. Sometimes they even took Rivera-Lacey with them. Little could they have imagined that, almost four decades later, she would return to lead that very college. 

But Rivera-Lacey’s path to becoming a higher education professional wasn’t an easy one.  

Just as she was about to graduate from El Camino High School, she learned she was one class short. Her counselor recommended taking a physical education class at MiraCosta College to get the extra credits she needed to graduate on time. 

Rivera-Lacey signed up for a hip-hop dance course, but getting to class was always a challenge. She was constantly searching for a ride or scavenging for gas money to make it to MiraCosta.  

But once there, Rivera-Lacey was introduced to Extended Opportunity Programs and Services, or EOPS, which provides access to financial assistance and support services for low-income students. The program counselors reassured Rivera-Lacey that she could have a future pursuing a college education after she graduated from high school.  

Rivera-Lacey gathered a strong support system at MiraCosta. When she wasn’t sure how to navigate the complex college system, the counselors helped her every step of the way. She also had the endless encouragement of her parents. And when she met Gonzales, they formed a quick bond because they understood each other's struggles as first-generation college students. 

“I had a family, and she was single. But for some reason, when we met, we clicked really well,” Gonzales said. “We were both struggling financially. She had a car that she named Herman, and I had a truck. Sometimes Herman worked, and sometimes my truck worked. But my car had a hole at the bottom, and Star was always afraid that she would fall through when it was my turn to drive.” 

Car troubles weren’t the only obstacle. Rivera-Lacey was juggling her academic pursuits while working full-time to make ends meet. Sometimes that meant a second job. But Rivera-Lacey remembers the relief she felt when EOPS helped ease the expenses of her classes, including a grant to help pay for books. 

While trying to balance work and school, Rivera-Lacey needed five years to obtain enough credits to transfer to a four-year university. But MiraCosta’s EOPS counselors never wavered in their support. If she needed to take a semester off to focus on work, they would welcome her back every time with open arms.  

“There was no judgment,” Rivera-Lacey said. “They offered me complete acceptance, which made all the difference in the world. I never had to feel embarrassed, and that's so special.” 

Rivera-Lacey continued to receive that type of support when she transferred to CSUSM. She was also grateful to land an on-campus job. After working in retail throughout her time at MiraCosta and constantly battling to get the work schedule she needed to attend classes, it was a relief to be working on a college campus. 

“I have had a million careers,” Rivera-Lacey said. “But one of the best things that happened when I was at CSUSM is that I worked in a department that used to be called Student Affirmative Action and Outreach.”  

This job was nothing like the ones Rivera-Lacey had before. She would visit students from local elementary and high schools and get them excited about a future in higher education.  

Elementary school kids also visited CSUSM. Rivera-Lacey remembers the paper cutouts of graduation caps for kids to try on and fake checks to take to the bookstore to simulate the financial aid process. 

“CSUSM was so forward-thinking by doing that kind of community outreach,” Rivera-Lacey said. “I'm not surprised at all to see the success that Cal State has now. They've been investing in the community for so many years.” 

While Rivera-Lacey was helping other students get enthused about the possibility of attending college, she came to a realization as she watched people from similar backgrounds succeed in their jobs at CSUSM – she needed to continue her higher education journey and pursue a career in the field. 

Rivera-Lacey worked alongside her friend Sabrina Sanders in the Student Affirmative Action and Outreach program. Sanders, who received a bachelor’s and master’s from CSUSM, also decided to pursue a career in higher ed because she and Rivera-Lacey saw themselves in the students they were serving and the impact of reaching underserved communities.  

“The co-curricular experience as student assistants prepared and inspired us to our careers in higher education,” said Sanders, who also earned a doctorate from Alliant International University and is now the director of the Toro Reengagement Program at California State University Dominguez Hills. “As a first-generation Latina, Rivera-Lacey had an impact on the elementary, high school and community college students that was powerful. Her college journey, experiences and representation continue to inspire and exemplify the values and opportunities that education provides and her parents instilled in her. Promoting access, equity and student success is more than a job for President Rivera-Lacey – it’s a calling.” 

When Rivera-Lacey received her bachelor’s in liberal studies in 1995, it was a life-changing moment for her parents to watch the first person in their family graduate from college.  

“I think when you experience poverty and with every semester that I got under my belt, it was like one step closer to freedom,” Rivera-Lacey said.  

Rivera-Lacey saw how her financial situation started to improve after earning her bachelor’s, but there were still challenges. When she was pursuing a master’s in counseling at San Diego State University, Rivera-Lacey remembers driving to take her final knowing she wouldn’t have enough gas to get home nor the money to fill her tank.  

“I remember clearly walking on the freeway,” she said. “I do not recommend that anybody get on the freeway, but one of my friends came and rescued me. And to this day, it is one of the stories that we laugh about, right? 

“There are going to be obstacles in the way, doors that close, but there's always a window that's open. If you just put one foot forward, the road will rise to meet. There are so many people who are in education that love what they do and believe in students. You'll find the help.” 

Rivera-Lacey never let any of the obstacles she faced get in the way of her end goal. She received her master's in counseling at SDSU in 1997 and eventually returned to school to get her Ph.D. in education from Claremont Graduate University in 2016.  

Rivera-Lacey knew she wanted to center her career around what she loved: student success. And she stayed with her passion for higher education for 17 years, which led her to become the superintendent/president of Palomar College in 2021.  

Just as when she was a child, Rivera-Lacey still has the same passion for continuing to grow and learn – and she’s in a position to inspire others to do the same as she works to build on Palomar’s success.  

Rivera-Lacey knows firsthand the struggles that so many students face, and she serves as a shining example to those who may never have seen a Latina college president.  

“I'm very, very surprised at people's reaction,” Rivera-Lacey said. “I remember during commencement, a student wanted to hug me because they’ve never seen a Latina president. And another student thanked me because their parents were able to understand the ‘Superintendent/President’s Welcome’ because we did it both in English and Spanish, which shows that representation does matter. 

“I tell people all the time, ‘I might be the first Latina Palomar superintendent/president, but I won't be the last.’ ” 

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist

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

Knowing firsthand the impact a teacher can have on a child made it all the more special for Nancy to have her students present virtually when she was recognized as one of two recipients of the President's Student Champion Award for Inclusive Excellence and Diversity during the All Peoples Luncheon on Oct. 29.

As Cal State San Marcos President Ellen Neufeldt highlighted a handful of Nancy’s long list of accomplishments, the children whom Nancy works with as a student teacher at Conway Elementary School in Escondido were watching the celebration online.

“They were so proud of me,” Nancy said. “And I know, even for that little bit of time that they talked about me during the ceremony, that I was a role model to them. I'm hoping that they take something from that and really want to be inclusive when they grow up.”

Nancy’s passion for fostering diversity and inclusiveness largely stems from her time with ACE Scholars Services, which supports former foster youth at CSUSM, and her involvement with ART=OPPORTUNITY and Center ARTES, arts education programs started by music professor Merryl Goldberg.

In fact, it was through ACE that Nancy landed a position working with Goldberg.

“Once I started at ACE, they slowly started getting me to break out of my shell and really being able to talk to people and advocate for others,” said Nancy, who received her bachelor’s in liberal studies last May and is now enrolled in CSUSM’s multiple subject teaching credential program.

It was while Nancy was taking Goldberg’s “Learning Through the Arts” course that the ACE staff approached Goldberg to see if she might have a position for Nancy.

Goldberg credits Nancy for being an integral part of the success of numerous arts activities and programs, including the College and Career Pathway program in which Nancy worked with the Creative Youth Development Network to provide workshops for youth in after-school programs. Goldberg also lauded Nancy for taking the initiative on trainings related to Black Lives Matter, inclusion and diversity. Along with another student, Nancy even assisted on the sixth edition of Goldberg’s book on arts integration in multicultural settings, helping to find ways to improve examples of diversity, inclusion of nonbinary gendered individuals, and the inclusion of stories of foster youth and unsheltered people.

“Nancy is truly a student who exudes inclusive excellence, lives diversity and is thoroughly deserving of every accolade imaginable,” Goldberg said. “She is really someone special, and I am so lucky to be able to work with her – and learn from her – on a daily basis.”

Nancy expects to complete her teaching credential next spring and hopes to have her own class of elementary school students next fall. It’s a path she was inspired to follow because of the teachers who helped her at Orange Glen High School in Escondido. When Nancy became pregnant with her daughter, Gabriella, during her senior year of high school, one of her teachers even drove to the children’s center where Nancy was living to ensure that she wouldn’t fall behind.

“I had a lot of support from my high school teachers,” said Nancy, whose second child, Santiago, was born in April. “They were really great role models for me. I always knew I wanted to teach, and I always knew that I wanted to make everyone that I came across feel the way that they made me feel.”

Goldberg has no doubt that Nancy will do just that.

“Nancy is amazing,” Goldberg said. “She is a thoroughly dedicated, reflective and energetic student and human who lives diversity and inclusivity. Her ability to manage ART=OPPORTUNITY activities, website, social media, and everything else we do to support youth and arts education is superb.

“Nancy is the glue that brings us together and binds us. I can’t imagine what it will be like when she graduates. Her future students are going to be so very lucky – as lucky as I am to learn from her and work with her daily.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist

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

This summer under the direction of CSUSM faculty researchers Jule Gómez de García and Michael Hughes, a group of students spent two weeks immersed in the indigenous community, performing linguistic fieldwork and learning about traditional weaving, handicrafts, farming techniques and the principles of medicinal healing. Gómez de García and Hughes have been traveling semi-annually with their research team to Nebaj for nearly 15 years to conduct various language documentation projects and their Ixhil collaborators, the Grupo de Mujeres y Hombres por la Paz, were eager to welcome their students to Nebaj.

“We wanted the students to get to know, understand and care about this very special group of people who have become an important part of our lives,” said Gómez de García. “It was an emotional time for us—we wanted them to love each other…and they did! The students realized that they weren’t there to help the Ixhil people, but to know them and to experience important aspects of their lives.”

During their time in Nebaj, the students visited Ixhil homes where they studied and practiced the Spanish and Ixhil languages and learned to cook traditional foods. Students Dorothy Allen-Tarver and Donna Yee recalled making a cornmeal drink under the guidance of a local woman named Xhiv and her mother, also named Xhiv.

“Their daily lives do not include the amenities that we take for granted, but they strive and innovate to make things work,” Donna said. “I loved learning to cook even though the smoke from the fire pit stove filled the tiny, dirt floor kitchen.”

Each student was mentored by a master weaver who led them in the ancient practice of backstrap weaving, so-called because one end of the loom is attached to a post or tree via a rope, and the other is attached to the weaver’s body through a strap that wraps around the back. Over the centuries, the backstrap weaving technique has remained unchanged and is one of the ways in which Mayan women have preserved their identity and culture.

The weaving classes began as a group project and then each student spent several hours weaving in their teachers’ homes, while sharing traditional foods and getting to know their families. Not only did the many hours of kneeling attached to the loom yield for each student his or her own creation representing a very special cross-cultural collaboration, but it allowed them to practice and learn Ixhil and to observe and interact with an indigenous community that, for centuries, was largely isolated from the rest of Guatemala and the world.

The study abroad experience satisfied course requirements for Modern Language Studies 350: World Languages and Their Speakers, an upper-division social science requirement that focuses on language policy, prestige languages versus minority languages and the comparative grammatical structures of languages found around the world.

“In Guatemala, Spanish is the majority language but only about 50 percent of the people speak Spanish as a mother tongue,” said Hughes. “The rest speak one of 21 different Mayan languages, so it’s an interesting place to look at language policy as well as to observe how the culture has responded to the massive social disruption of the civil war.”

The trip also included for the students daily hikes and excursions to Colonial Antigua, Chichicastenango, local villages and Finca La Perla, a coffee plantation that played an important role in reintegrating civil war refugees into the area by providing work for them and by helping to reconstruct entire villages. The students visited La Perla with Miguel Guzaro Raymundo, a former leader of the Communities of Population in Resistance during the war, the current director of the Nebaj Association of Victims. Raymundo described what life in the mountains was like for the refuges forced to flee their homes and the measures taken to protect the Ixhil people during the war.

“For me, it was one of the most eye opening experiences I have ever had,” said student Alicia Eckert. “The thing I am most grateful for is all of the wonderful people we met, and for them to be so excited to share their beautiful culture with us! It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience!”

The Cal State San Marcos professor of linguistics and chair of the Liberal Studies Department is a linguistic anthropologist whose work focuses on the documentation and revitalization of Native California languages. She works with tribes across the state to document their native languages to help pass them down to future generations.

As CSUSM celebrates its 25^th anniversary, Ahlers is the epitome of what the university is all about: applied research and service.

“Being a resource for communities who are trying save something is so important,” she said. “Language encodes a way of being in the world and seeing the world. To lose language is to lose an important way of expressing a culture.”

Her current project involves the small Kawaiisu tribe in the Tehachapi area. Only two fluent speakers of the language remain. Efforts have included recording 65 hours of conversation among the last three native speakers of Kawaiisu (one has since died).

“It’s incredibly complex work,” Ahlers said. “Right now, it is taking two hours to transcribe one minute of conversation.”

Reflecting on her 13 years at CSUSM, Ahlers said: “That went by fast. When I started here, we were half the size we are now. We have grown so much. This is an incredibly vibrant place to be.”

The CSU Trustees’ Awards are among the highest student distinctions within the CSU system and are accompanied by scholarships to those who have a demonstrated financial need, experienced personal hardships and have attributes of merit including superior academic performance, exemplary community service and significant personal achievements.

Overcoming the Odds

One of eight children, Emily overcame many traumatic childhood experiences, including the divorce of her parents and her mother's subsequent alcohol and drug addiction. Despite these challenges, she has always been committed to education. Emily earned an associate’s degree in liberal studies and is currently pursuing a bachelor's in the same subject with an emphasis in arts and education with an integrated teaching credential at CSUSM.

A member of the dean's list, Emily enjoys giving back through community service and volunteering. She is a member of the CSUSM women's lacrosse team and the assistant coach of the women's varsity lacrosse team at a local high school.

“When I think about my personal history, I know that each event in my life has shaped me into the person I am today,” reflected Emily, who says the scholarship has relieved the financial stress of attending college, allowing her to focus on her classes. “Life can beat you down, but it doesn't beat the life out of you. So when things don't go my way, I pick myself up, dust myself off and continue on, making sure I avoid anything that can get in my way.”

Upon completion of her bachelor's degree and credential certification, she looks forward to earning a master's degree at Cal State San Marcos and a doctorate in education at UC San Diego.

For more information about Emily and the 22 other awardees, visit the CSU Trustee Awards website.