“We never heard about people going to college,” said Barrera, who earned a bachelor's degree in human development in 2018 and a master's in public health in 2024. “If it weren’t for Upward Bound, I wouldn’t have known it was a possibility for me.”

Through Upward Bound, a program that helps low-income and first-generation high school students prepare for college, Barrera received academic support, mentoring and help with applications.  

When Barrera arrived at Cal State San Marcos, she discovered a community that was both welcoming and unfamiliar.

“I met an international student for the first time," she said. "Back home, everyone is Hispanic. It was so interesting to be in a place that celebrated diversity. The campus and the student life centers showed me that there’s a place for everyone.” 

After earning her bachelor’s, Barrera began working in health-related fields and discovered a passion for research. Returning to CSUSM for her master's helped her refine that passion and find belonging.

“That’s when I really felt seen as a Mexican-American researcher,” Barrera said.

Receiving a scholarship from the CSUSM Alumni Association was another milestone.

“The money was helpful, but more importantly, being selected was super validating,” she said.

Today, Barrera works at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash., and hopes to pursue a doctorate in public health. As an employee benefit, she was able to create a will and decided to include a $10,000 scholarship for public health students at CSUSM.

“Making a will was so easy, a lot easier than I thought, and I’m extremely grateful to be in this position to give back,” Barrera said.

Supporting students like her and the public health field is at the heart of Barrera's motivation to give. Asked what she’d tell future recipients of her scholarship, she doesn’t hesitate.

“You received this scholarship for a reason," she said. "There are people out there who see your potential and have invested in it. Lean into that and trust your capabilities to do incredible things. Keep going!”

How You Can Support Future Students in Your Estate Plan

Barrera’s story is a powerful example of how anyone, at any age, can help future students thrive.

Gifts in estate plans – through wills, trusts or retirement accounts – can be changed by the donor at any time, and there are many possible planned giving options to suit your needs. Gifts at all levels make a difference for students.

“I want young people to know it’s easier than they think,” Barrera said. “Even with modest assets, you can still set up a planned gift. You don’t have to wait until later in life.”

To learn more about planned gifts, contact P. Vien Walker, director of planned giving, at 760-750-8138 or vwalker@csusm.edu, or visit plannedgiving.csusm.edu.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

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

But there’s no event bigger than the one Drumm umpired last month – the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Drumm was one of 11 softball umpires selected to work the Olympics and the only one from the United States.

It’s fitting that Drumm learned about her Olympic assignment while umpiring a game. In fact, it was during a softball scrimmage at Cal State San Marcos. The university is familiar territory for Drumm, who earned a bachelor’s in kinesiology and master’s in public health at CSUSM.

Drumm recently returned from Tokyo and shared her thoughts on her Olympic experience, her umpiring background and how some of the lessons she learned at CSUSM have helped her officiating career.

Question: When did umpiring the Olympics become a goal for you?

Christina Drumm: It was always a hope when I started working at the international level, and then softball was eliminated from the Olympics after 2008. When Tokyo announced that softball and baseball would be added in as exhibition sports in 2020, I felt that it was a realistic goal starting in 2016.

Q: How did you learn that you had been selected as an umpire for the Olympics?

CD: I was training and umpiring a scrimmage softball game at CSUSM. A good friend in the Athletics Department had seen other umpires had announced they had been selected. She was able to get some information and handed me a rolled paper between the fence when I was between innings. I opened the paper up, read the first few sentences that announced I was selected for the 2020 Olympic Games. I rolled the paper back up, handed it back to her and had a big smile on my face along with a lot of emotion running through me and went back to umpiring. Of course, there was a lot more celebrating later.

Q: What was the highlight of the Olympics and what, if anything, about the experience surprised you?

CD: How organized and collaborative the Japanese were from the time I got off my flight to when I left the airport and headed home. The process of verifying prior COVID tests to verifying paperwork and applications on phones to taking a COVID test at the airport with hundreds of people coming off planes was efficient. The Japanese who volunteered and/or worked the event were friendly, helpful and seemed very excited to be part of the event.

Q: How was the Olympic experience different from other high-level international competitions where you’ve been an umpire?

CD: The Olympic experience is closely monitored, daily COVID testing, not allowed to leave the hotel and no fans in the stands. The on-field experience was the same when calling balls, strikes, safes and outs.

Q: What inspired you to pursue umpiring?

CD: I started umpiring after college to earn extra money and I really enjoyed the experience – the camaraderie of the umpires, being able to teach/train and give back to the umpire community, and the interaction of the players, coaches and fans at all levels. It has become a passion hobby ever since.

Q: How did you decide to attend CSUSM?

CD: It was a university that was close and had smaller class sizes in my major. I felt it was a good fit.

Q: What made you decide to pursue a bachelor’s in kinesiology and an MPH?

CD: I love teaching and being active. Kinesiology has disciplines that can allow me to merge those together.

Q: Did you have any involvement with the CSUSM softball program while you were at the university?

CD: Not really. My local association will partner with the team to conduct some training for the umpires, which allows game situations for the team. I was able to invite the CSUSM softball team to have an exhibition game against the Olympic team before COVID shut things down. It was a great game to watch.

Q: Are there any lessons learned from your time at CSUSM that apply to your umpiring?

CD: Absolutely. Collaborating with diverse individuals is very important in both roles. I continued to work on my leadership skills when working with groups to achieve goals and the desired final product.

Q: Is there anything else from your Olympic experience or your time at CSUSM that people should know?

CD: My Olympic experience was very different from other Olympics, but it still was an amazing event. The teams played so competitive and cheered so loud that it felt like there were fans there. Being part of the bronze-medal game was extremely special.

I continued my education at CSUSM because of the support of the faculty; they are vested in students’ success. I had great professors who took time to apply all the new concepts to real-life situations so a graduate could leverage that information to improve community health.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist

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

The change was approved last week by Carl Kemnitz, CSUSM’s provost.  

As part of the department designation, public health will be moving from the School of Nursing, where it has resided since 2016, to the School of Health Sciences and Human Services. It will become the fifth department in that school, joining human development, kinesiology, social work and speech-language pathology.  

The final step for public health to be designated a department was the news this spring that the program has achieved accreditation by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), an independent agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit schools of public health and public health programs. The accreditation term is for five years, extending to July 1, 2026.  

Christina Holub has been serving as interim director of the program and, starting this summer, she will be the chair of the new Department of Public Health. Holub thanked the School of Nursing for initiating the public health program and also saluted the founding faculty: in addition to herself, Emmanuel Iyiegbuniwe, Deborah Morton, Asherlev Santos and Lisa Bandong. 

“With our recent accreditation and with a growing interest in public health careers, largely due to the pandemic, our team of faculty and staff are excited to train the next generation of culturally intelligent public health professionals,” Holub said. “There is so much more to come, and I can’t wait to see all the future endeavors and innovation in the public health department and, most importantly, how that translates to the success of our students and alumni. 

CSUSM established the public health program in 2016 to meet the needs of graduates in health professions and to fill vacant positions identified in North San Diego County. Within the professional Master of Public Health degree, the department offers two concentrations, in health promotion/health education and global health.